Coward Montblanc
by Arruruchama
Summary: Betrayal is painful. Kuroko found himself experiencing the word first-hand. Now that he left Teiko and entered Seirin, he finds out he's not alone, and he might be able to get over the past. But when familiar faces and painful memories fly by, will he be able to control his own emotions and be brave enough to face them? Will his team be able to make amends for their mistakes?(A/N)
1. Broken

_**The story will still be following the canon events in the original series.**_

* * *

He had never felt so betrayed.

_**It hurts.**_

_"I will be blunt with you, Tetsuya." Akashi said, no amount of remorse present in his tone. Kuroko's eyes were filled with so much pain. What did he do to deserve this? Maybe it was because he was too soft. That wasn't possible… He made sure he cut off all trace of emotion the moment he knew that he and Akashi were infatuated with each other. It was the request of Akashi himself, after all._

_"You've grown weak." Akashi said. "You've disappointed me." Kuroko said nothing. What, was Akashi expecting that he of all people would be able to last long under his so-called line of victory?_

_"...Seijuro-kun…" Kuroko muttered weakly. Akashi's eyes narrowed. "You have no value or worth whatsoever. You don't have the right to call me by my first name."_

_Did Akashi enjoy hurting him so much? Kuroko started feeling a foreign pain in his chest. So he was worthless?_

_"The others have noticed, Tetsuya. You can barely keep up with us. You keep trying, but you keep failing in the end."_

_Akashi turned to his right, and another boy came from the shadows. "Meet Mayuzumi Chihiro, your replacement." He said with a smile. Kuroko felt so heavy. Why? Why, why, why, why, why?_

_Akashi only ever smiled like that to him. Was he that happy that he had found someone else worthy of his love?_

_Kuroko stared at Akashi's eyes with such pain._

_And Akashi could only look so amused._

_"You may leave now, Tet-su-ya." He said almost teasingly. Kuroko couldn't move. Instead, his knees crumbled, pulling him to the ground._

_"Akashi-kun… Please… Tell me…"_

_Kuroko stared at him with such betrayed eyes._

_"…Tell me this is all a lie."_

_It wasn't a request, or a favor. It never sounded like a demand, either._

_He was_ _**begging**_**.**

_Akashi gave him a cold look. "…It is not a lie, Tetsuya. You're of no use to the team. Daiki has long since abandoned you. Ryouta is always hesitant to move around you. Atsushi and Shintaro were never really fond of you in the first place." Akashi pointed out. "And I…"_

_Kuroko's eyes widened._

_**It's painful.**_

_"I never loved you." Akashi said sinisterly. Chihiro, to add insult to injury, gave Kuroko a victorious smirk. Kuroko ignored this._

_"Now that is the truth you were too scared to face." Akashi spat. "You were nothing more but something to pass my time." Kuroko couldn't take anymore._

_Shut up…_

_"In fact, every single one of the Generation of Miracles thought you were a nuisance."_

_Shut up, shut up…_

_"That was why everyone wanted you out. So annoying. Blank eyes, emotionless façade, what else could you have done to irritate each person you meet?"_

_Shut up, shut up, shut up…_

_"…And that was the very reason your dear friend from Meiko suffered what was supposed to be your punishment."_

_Akashi expected him to break, to cry. But he wasn't –for the first time- expecting the blank, soulless look in his ex-lover's eyes._

_"Thank you for your truthfulness." Kuroko said, monotone. "Although, you could have said it in a much nicer way."_

_Akashi said nothing._

_"Then again, I was aware you'd be this blunt and hurtful." Kuroko spat. "It's how you_ _are, anyway." His hair covered his eyes as he stared up at the pouring sky._

_"Victory is everything, right?" Kuroko asked rhetorically._

_"You have completely succeeded in breaking me, Miracle." Kuroko said quietly, and turned around. "So for that, I congratulate you."_

_Before he walked away, he said one last thing.  
_  
_"Thank you for ruining everything for me, Generation of Miracles."_

_…Ever since then, not one member of Teiko's basketball team ever saw him again._

* * *

**A year later….**

Moving to a new school was much more relieving than he originally thought. He felt that he could breathe more, and he even felt free from some of the burden that he was carrying on his shoulders. Ever since the incident, he has shut down completely. For a whole year, not a single emotion was shown by Kuroko. He looked blank, often soulless. He wasn't what he used to be. Not since Akashi betrayed him in the most cruel way possible.

The recruiting of club members will be going on for a week. He never really planned on joining any particular club. Especially the one he hated the most. The one he was _forced_ to hate.

"Basketball club! Anyone wanna join?" A weird kid with a cat smile was handing out flyers. Kuroko stared at him. Whenever basketball was mentioned, he would feel this weird tingling sensation and feel disgusted. He heard a small 'huh' from someone before he felt his hand be touched.

Kuroko didn't think the boy would notice him. _  
_  
"Ah, you scared me!" the boy yelped. He breathed for a second before muttering 'weirdo'. Then, he grinned. "Since you're here, why not take join the basketball club?"

Kuroko bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to-"

"But, dude, you were gripping my arm and staring at the flyers for five seconds." The boy mentioned.

Kuroko blinked. When he looked at the boy's arm, he saw his own hand gripping the other tightly. He quickly let go and bowed lowly.

"I'm very sorry, I-"

"Dude, don't be so uptight!" He laughed. "I'm Koganei Shinji, a second year."

"Ah, so you're older than me." Kuroko muttered brainlessly. Koganei grinned. "That's right! So if you ever want to join, you can go over there with the flat-chested girl with the glasses guy beside him."

"No, you clearly don't understand, I am not completely fond of basketball." Kuroko explained calmly. Koganei huffed. "I wasn't forcing you, bro! B-But we're desperate of members, so just in case you change your mind…"

He looked so hopeful. Kuroko, being the little saint he was, could not afford to turn down the offer.

"I'll think about it."

Koganei looked thankful. "That's great! Just remember, okay? If you ever want to join, go to that flat-chested coach with the guy in glasses!"

"…Oh… Alright…" Kuroko said, looking at the older boy weirdly, though it was not evident in his face. "It was nice meeting you, Koganei-sempai."

And then, he walked away with a flyer in hand.

There were _barely_ enough people who wanted to fill in the positions in the club. There were only a few players (only needed one more, just _one_ more), and the most needed one right now would be the advisor. There was no coach yet, no manager, either. "…How are they going to find a way to make their club official?" Kuroko wondered worriedly.

Even if he hated basketball, he would still want to help them. That is how he is…. That, or he really just didn't hate basketball after all.

_"Look, if you don't really want to play, why are you having second thoughts in the first place?"  
_  
He was wondering about the manager's position. He can't play for as much as he used to anymore. Ever since the incident with Akashi and the Generation of Miracles, he fell into depression. That alone hindered him from being able to play normally.

_"See?! You're even eyeing the manager's position! Shame on you, Tetsuya." _

_**But what if they needed him so much? What if they don't get to make their club official because of me? What if…**_

He sighed. "…I'm such a softy."

Why was he even troubling himself when he could always turn them down?

_**"Sometimes, I despise myself for being such a sweetheart."**_Kuroko thought bitterly.

* * *

**I don't feel guilty about this. I hope Kuroko isn't too OOC, or anyone for that matter. If you're gonna flame, then go on. :D You will just fuel my amusement.**

Also, please point out any mistakes, I will gladly correct them.

*Coward Montblanc is a song by the Vocaloid GUMI. Before there is any conflict, this is solely for the purpose of entertainment and I mean no Plagiarism at all…

***This will be a slight song fanfiction (and I intend to do it the **_**correct**_** way.) The song's meaning itself will be vital to this story's plotline.**

[**IMPORTANT**]*I am not an idiot, and I know how to write correctly. But I am not too sure about my grammar and ideas because one: English is not my mother tongue and two: My mind ventures elsewhere without proper motivation, and that proper motivation includes your reviews and PMs.

Coward Montblanc (Male Japanese Version)- **watch?v=KEb-Hy0yxw4**

Coward Montblanc (English Male Version)- **watch?v=027R7VcWzvc**


	2. A Doll Without Color

**A few questions!  
1\. Do you like the plot?  
2\. Does anything need some changes and tweaks?  
3\. Is the story doing well? No one's too OOC?  
4\. Do you like the song?  
5\. What do you think of the cover photo? (I don't own it, and I thank Zerochan's site for letting me use) It's Tetsuya, half of his face, and he's crying. It's almost like how Gumi was in the original PV, except she was crying by the end and her body is also shown.  
**

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke. I don't own Coward Montblanc either. All credits go to their respectful owners! I only own my ideas, my style of writing, and my imagination.

**Please point out any mistakes!  
Also, thank you so much for reviewing and PMing me! Without you guys, I'd probably laze around the house doing nothing but make montblancs lol**

* * *

"Hyuga Junpei?"

"Here."

"Izuki Shun?"

"Present."

"Mitobe Rinnosuke?"

The young man raised his hand.

"Koganei Shinji?"

"Present!"

Riko was checking the attendance. So far, most of the players were present. Since they had no one to fill in the position, Riko took her spot as coach once more. Luckily, they got their own advisor for the club and their basketball club was made official. Truly lucky, indeed.

"Kagami Taiga?" Riko said out loud. She was met with a gruff voice from behind her. "I'm here. Let's just get this over with so we ca-"

"Show more respect for your seniors, you half-brained junior!" Hyuga stepped in, giving Kagami a hit on the head. Kagami was about to retaliate when he was met with a clipboard to the face.

"Right, both of you, shut up. I'm not done yet." Riko grumbled. When she re-checked her list, she looked up at Koganei. "Hey, Koganei-kun, didn't you say you invited someone last time?" She asked. Koganei nodded. "Yeah. He said he'd think about it." He then frowned. "I guess he couldn't make it after all…"

Hyuga, who was dribbling a ball beside Mitobe, made a three point shoot and faced the two. "Do you know who he is, then?"

Koganei shook his head. "Nah, not really. I didn't have time to ask who he was." He laughed. "Little dude had low presence."

Riko blinked. "…A guy with low presence? First time I heard of that."

Kagami huffed. "Whoever he is, he's not worth talking about." He said, earning hard glares from some of the fierce members of the group.

"Kagami, you never met the guy."

Kagami huffed. "Whatever."

Koganei felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek. "Eh, maybe we should give him a chance? I mean, the guy looked like the type who wouldn't keep people hanging."

Riko tried to ignore the irritation overcoming her mind. Hyuga was muttering something about 'damn juniors don't know how to respect time limits' and all that.

Riko sighed. "Fine. We'll see if he eventually comes up after two days."

That was the only decision they would never regret.

* * *

Kagami Taiga walked his way to his favorite burger joint. It was a few hours since practice was over. Not wanting to be bothered, he eventually reached the decision to go to Maji Burger to eat his fill. He sighed.

_'It doesn't matter, basketball is basketball wherever I go, be it Japan or America.'_

After earning odd looks from the staff (he ordered a heap of regular burgers for God's sake) he made his way to a lone table by the window. He was in deep thought. "Whoever this extra guy is, he'll need a good reason for skipping a week of chance if he ever turns himself up.."

He was quite curious, he could admit that. The coach's wrath was something not to be taken lightly, especially the captain's famous 'clutch-time mode'. Boy, how could the guy avoid that?

Kagami shrugged. As long as it wasn't his problem, he didn't really care. He thought about the words of his teammates earlier.

* * *

_"This year, we're going up against strong schools and opponents." Riko informed. "That means we'll need to improve greatly before the tournament itself starts."_

_The others cheered. "Alright! Let's do our best!"_

_Hyuga grinned. "That's right, during the tournament, we might face the feared Generation of Miracles in a match!" he then put his fingers on his glasses. "So until then, work hard!"_

_Kagami blinked. 'Generation of Miracles…?'_

* * *

Kagami shrugged the memory away, grinning. "Generation of Miracles? Whoever they are, I'm going to grind them to dust and climb to the top!"

He was going to eat his fifteenth burger when another voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You really shouldn't underestimate them."

Kagami turned to the source of the sound;

there was a boy sitting on the other chair of the same table he was in.

Said boy looked him straight in the eye, his blue eyes blank…. Almost reminds Kagami of a doll's, unmoving, unfeeling, but not quite there.

Then it clicked to him: The boy was staring into his soul.

Kagami screamed, choking on his burger.

"W-W-What the h-?! When did you get here?!"

Said boy sipped on his straw. "I've been here quite longer than you have." He tilted his head. "Are you sure you're going to be able to finish all that?" He asked, not minding the situation at all.

Kagami looked ridiculed. "Stop trying to change the subject! And what are you, some kind of ghost?!" He exclaimed, earning weird looks from the other customers.

"I am not trying to change the subject." The boy said, closing his eyes. "And no, I am a normal living boy just like you. I'm sorry, I was born with such low presence."

Kagami started calming down, but he couldn't hide those small shivers coming up his spine every now and then.

_"The little dude had such low presence!" **Koganei's words repeated in his head.  
**_

Kagami twitched. _'Hey. Don't tell me this isn't just a coincidence.' _

They fell into awkward silence before the light-haired boy bowed a bit. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Kuroko Tetsuya. I apologize for surprising you earlier."

_'Overly polite!'_ Kagami thought. He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Ehh… I wasn't really affected _that_ much,"

"You screamed like a little girl."

"…I was just a bit startled." Kagami tried to ignore Kuroko's remark. Kuroko stared at him expectantly. Kagami realized why and grinned.

"I'm Kagami Taiga. I want to be the best player in Japan!" He said determinedly. Kuroko stared at him for a few moments, which unnerved the 'tiger'.

_'He's like a doll!'_ Kagami thought in a slightly freaked out tone inside his head. _'The same expression over and over!'_

"Hey, hey. You're not planning on saying anything?" Kagami muttered in disbelief. Kuroko didn't move. "Ah, I see." Kuroko said as if he just snapped out of a trance.

_'Late reaction!'_ Kagami thought.

"I'll be rooting for you then, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said politely, continuing to sip on his drink.

Kagami smirked at his words. "Thanks, I guess. It's a big dream, but I know I can achieve it." He said. "After all, basketball is a game where you need to have passion to keep you motivated." Kagami muttered out absent-mindedly. He saw a slight twinkle in Kuroko's eyes.

_"Must be my imagination…"_ Kagami thought. Silence filled the space between them.

Kagami, not wanting the air to turn awkward for both of them, broke the silence by coughing and striking a rather lame conversation.

"So… Uh… What'cha drinking?" Kagami asked. Kuroko stopped sucking the straw to face the tall boy.

"Vanilla milkshake. They make the best ones as far as I know." Kuroko said almost bitterly, Kagami didn't know why.

_Murasakibara always offered me with vanilla products when we were in Teiko. How things have changed._

"They make it sweet…" Kuroko muttered quietly. "…The kind of sweet that fills the bitterness of the void deep inside me."

Kagami felt a bead of sweat cross from his forehead. _'What is this guy talking about?'_

"Ah, I must have made you uncomfortable." Kuroko said after his daze finished. He hated those memories so much right now. What was this, that show where each episode was a constant flashback without proper explanation?

"N-No, it's good."

After both of them finished their food, both went out of the restaurant. Kagami, feeling that he had lost the boy already, sighed in what he thought was relief.

"That guy's… Weird." Kagami said to no one. He then looked back on the moment he saw Kuroko Tetsuya.

Silent, straightforward, weird, and has a low presence. Not to mention overly polite.

Kagami shrugged it off. Then, a thought crossed his mind.

"Come to think of it, Kuroko looked like he was wearing…Seirin's uniform."

* * *

Kuroko was alone again, and he never realized that he was at the public basketball court until he got there. His eyes narrowed slightly, eyeing the basketball hoop.

"…What am I doing here?" Kuroko asked himself, before breathing out in defeat.

Kuroko looked at the starry sky. For some reason, he _still_ didn't feel the need to express much emotion. Yet after meeting that Kagami Taiga…

Kuroko felt another tingling in his chest. This time, it wasn't torment. It was something he couldn't fully explain by himself. For some reason, he felt slightly at ease for the first time in 12 months.

He used to hate basketball because of how his old teammates treated him. How they treated the others. Most importantly, how they have changed negatively.

Not to mention the fact that Akashi replaced him.

He was so hurt that time. It might have been a year ago, but the memory still burned at the back of his mind like a nightmare. He didn't know what to say. When he experienced the 'betrayal' first-hand, all he could feel was pain, torment, sorrow, at loss for words, and understanding. All negative emotions hit him like a rusted knife to the heart.

All it took was one more push to get him on edge, to make him lose everything he ever loved with just four simple words.

Kuroko subconsciously gripped his chest to where his heart would be. It still hurt.

_"Tetsuya, calm down. The doctor said you shouldn't get yourself stressed." _He tried to repeat in his mind. He breathed slowly to calm him down.

_"Try thinking positive thoughts…"_

Kuroko tried to bring back every good memory he had in Teiko. But it only repeated to the cycle where the one he loved betrayed him and the moment his old team had abandoned and ruined his trust.

_"Okay, let's stop that."_

Kuroko then went back to his latest memories: His first few moments in Seirin. They weren't all too good, but they weren't bad either.

_'If you ever want to join, go to that girl with the flat chest with the glasses guy beside her!'_

'I'm Kagami Taiga, and I'm going to be the best player in Japan!'

'Basketball is a game where you need to have passion...'

Kuroko started to feel a little calmer, and sighed in relief.

_"Not only did they make me feel empty, they even had me holding on for dear life with my weak body." _Kuroko thought bitterly. _"But I can't really blame them. It was me who became depressed over something so silly."_

Kuroko sat down on the bench. When he checked the time on his phone, it said it was 6 PM.

"Oh my, I'm going to be late for dinner." Kuroko said a bit worriedly, picking his bag up and running to the nearest bus stop.

Kuroko just realized something. When he met Kagami and learned that the said boy held some passion for basketball, he somehow felt changed.

Kuroko realized: maybe he didn't completely hate basketball like he thought. After seeing the determination Kagami held, Kuroko felt a bit at ease.

…Like there was still hope for him, after all.

Kuroko took the flyer of the basketball club and took a look at it once more. He sighed, and for the first time in ages, Kuroko smiled a slight, genuine smile.

"Maybe I should give it another chance…"

His only thought now was if he could really trust the new team.

* * *

**Oh hey look, an update**

**lol**

**I was supposed to post this chapter on Wednesday eastern time Taipei, but I just wanted to know how I got almost 20 reviews in one chapter. I hope this was at least high enough for your expectations! Thank you so much!**

**and I'm still sitting here wondering where nijikuro came from**

**Anyway, I hope this doesn't suck too badly. Please tell me if you think it needs more creativity.**

**No, I haven't decided yet which the set pairing will be. If you guys don't know either, then I will keep the pairing a secret *Evil laugh***

**QUESTION TIME: Does anyone have any idea why 'Coward Montblanc' was set as the main track, title, and inspiration? If you get the closest answer, you win. :3**

**Oh, and shout out for everyone who reviewed, favorite-d, and followed this story! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME! I will make sure I will update as fast as I can in order to keep you guys excited for more. ^_^**


	3. Shadow and Light

**You know what? Screw the canon, this will be AU because I can, with bits and pieces of the original** run.

_IMPORTANT:_ I **ALSO MADE MY OWN ART FOR THIS STORY! Please check it out. ^_^ Link's on my profile.**

* * *

**Monday  
**

Kuroko was waiting on the bus, reading another one of his mystery novels. It's been two days since his encounter with Kagami. He held his club application form in a slightly tight hold.

_"Tetsuya, this is __**so **__not the time to be hesitating." _He thought to himself. Looking out the window, he imagined how he would get along with this new team.

Flashes of bright smiles across the imaginary faces came into Kuroko's mind, making him look slightly more alive than he usually was. Would they like him? Would they accept him? Would they treat him fairly? So many questions filled his mind. He would like to be positive for once and believe there was still hope for him to get over the depressing memories he held inside his mind.

_"You're not needed!"_

_"I don't remember how to catch your passes anymore."_

_"Practice is a bother."_

_"T-They're right… We're already good enough, so I don't see the point in practicing anymore…"_

_"I __**never **__loved you."_

Kuroko closed his eyes, massaging his temple to ward off a probably in-coming headache. He never realized how damaged he was until that nightmare of a memory came back to him.

Finally stopping at Seirin High, he breathed in.

Just how nervous could he be? It's not like the coach will kill him, or anything. Kuroko was being pressured by the negative side of his thoughts. Koganei was his senior who told him that they were desperate in members(as if the flyer's position list wasn't proof enough) and surely, they'd still be willing to accept him.

* * *

Riko felt an imaginary tick mark on her face. She growled. "Looks like he really isn't going to show up." She grumbled through her teeth.

Koganei looked a bit disappointed, while Hyuga was raging with Riko. Kagami gave an uncaring look about the current situation and proceeded bouncing the ball and continuously shooting with the ones being clumsily passed by Furihata.

"Alright, let's continue with practice." Riko said in a commanding tone. "There's no point in waiting for a guy who can't show up."

"But I've been sitting here for five minutes."

Everything went silent. Riko shakily turned around, only to see a boy with blue eyes staring at her own. She gulped, before screaming in shock.

"W-When did you get here?!" Riko asked. Kuroko sighed. It's always like this. "Ever since you finished with the list."

Koganei suddenly lightened up, as if he just remembered something. "Ah! It's you." He said in a happy tone. "Glad you could make it!"

Kuroko nodded to acknowledge him, bowing. "It's nice to see you again, Koganei-sempai**(1)**."

Hyuga blinked at the revelation. "What? That's him?" He asked. Koganei grinned. "Yeah, he is."

They were all interrupted with another sound of shock.

"It's you!" Kagami said, surprised. Kuroko blinked, amusement filling his system. "Nice to see you, Kagami-kun."

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Izuki asked, interested in the situation.

Kagami stopped what he was doing and ran over to Kuroko. "You never told me you play basketball." He said.

Kuroko's eyes visibly narrowed, a slight glint of emotion present in them. Kagami was taken back, never having seen that side of him before.

"I'm sorry I didn't. But yes, I do." Kuroko replied monotonously.

"I'm sorry to ruin your little reunion, but I think it's best you introduce yourself." Riko interrupted, slightly getting pissed at being ignored. Kuroko then looked apologetic and immediately turned all his attention to the coach.

"My apologies. I am Kuroko Tetsuya, class 1-B,"

"You're in the same class as me?!" Kagami's unheard exclamations in the background.

"And I would like to take the position of the manager." Kuroko continued. Riko looked surprised. "Hm? Wouldn't you rather be a player?" She asked. Kuroko fell silent, and turned to her again. "I'd like to be a player as well, but I don't think I'd be brave enough to face them." He said quietly, not really meaning for anyone to hear him.

"What was that?" Riko asked, not catching him. Kuroko blinked and cleared his throat.

"I would like to become a player, but I-"

"Then what's the problem with that?" Hyuga started. "You can be a player-manager. That's allowed."

Riko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. That way, you can play and at the same time take the manager's post. So, would you like to take the position?" Riko asked once more. Kuroko, knowing he wouldn't really be able to argue back to a girl, sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity, coach." Kuroko said, handing over his club application form. Riko scanned the paper, eyes widening. Hyuga noticed the change, turning to his lov- coach. "Riko, what's wrong?"

Riko didn't reply. Instead, she faced Kuroko. "Take off your shirt."

Kuroko minded, but since it was an order, he complied. Riko analyzed his body's capabilities.

Riko's eyes narrowed. _'This guy…'_

"Alright, practice resume! Kuroko-kun, here's the list of things you need to help me with." She said, handing over another clipboard to him. Kuroko took it, putting back his shirt on and reading the said list.

Hyuga went back to her. "What was wrong?"

Riko looked serious. "Kuroko Tetsuya is from Teiko."

Hyuga gasped in surprise.

Riko continued. "His body is below an average player's standard." She said. "But on his form, it says he used to be on the first string and one of the main players."

"Hey, you don't think…" Hyuga started.

"He might be a part of them." Riko said. "He might even be the sixth phantom man."

"The Generation of Miracles."

They didn't know Kagami was actually listening to their conversation.

* * *

**Later...**

Riko let out a lame laugh. "I've been waiting for you."

All freshman players were on the rooftop, looking quite confused, except for Kuroko who looked like he didn't really care for what was in store. In truth, he was actually a bit excited for it.

"…Are you stupid…?" Kagami muttered. Kuroko tilted his head slightly to the side. "A duel?"

Kagami sighed. "I forgot about it, but Monday…" He started lowly.

"The morning assembly starts in 5 minutes!" He exclaimed. Kagami took out his registration form. "Here! Just hurry up and take it!"

Riko gave a wry smirk. "Before that, I have something to tell you."

"…Huh?" The boys all murmured.

"I made a promise when the captain asked me to be the coach last year." Riko said. "I promised tofocus solely on pushing the team to the national championship."

"If you think you can't do that, then there are other clubs suited for you." She added with a confident look.

Kagami gave an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. "Huh? Of course I'm-"

"I know you're strong." Riko said fiercely. "But I want you to know there's something more important."

Kuroko stared at her. This ought to be interesting.

"No matter how hard you're practicing, 'someday' and 'maybe' isn't enough." Riko said.

"I need to know you have ambitious goals and the will to accomplish them."

Kuroko's eyes slightly widened at her statement. It made him compare his days from Teiko to now. Teiko always won, sure, but it wasn't like they were motivated to do so. They didn't really have any goals aside from winning, and they even manage to break their opponents because they weren't taking them seriously.

But Seirin…

Riko pointed down below her. "Give me your year, name, and goal! I want you to announce your goals right here, right now!"

She then gave an almost evil smile. "If you fail to achieve them because of your weak will, you will strip naked and confess your feelings to the girl you love."

While the other first years cowered in fear for the threat, Kagami gave a deadpanned 'huh'.

Kuroko looked emotionless, even though the inside of him was swirling with emotions. Confess, huh? He remembered those few moments with Akashi, when he still had both eyes filled with love for _him_ and _him_ only.

All of the sudden, a sharp feeling of getting cut in the heart came to him, making him flinch slightly.

"All the second years did it last year." Riko said, earning amused looks from the other first years. "Huh? No one told me about this." Furihata stated. Kawahara said something about having heard of it before.

After a series of wild stupidity on the rooftop, Kuroko didn't get to say anything and got in trouble as well.  
**  
(A:N/:Timeskip; AU VERSE: The mini game took place right after this, so Kuroko got to show what he was capable of.)  
**-  
-

* * *

"Thank you very much!"

Ah, there he goes again.

Kagami ordered thirty burgers, going back to his usual spot in the diner. He sat down on the chair, looking a bit pissed. "I can't believe he got mad over a little shouting."

He took a bite into his burger, and heard a familiar voice reply to him.

"I didn't get the chance to speak, and even got in trouble, too." Kuroko said, taking a sip from his drink.

Kagami made a shocked sound, gulping down his food. "You again?! I should probably start going elsewhere." He mumbled.

"Come to think of it, weren't you from some big shot school?" He asked after noticing the silence between them. Kuroko looked up at him.

"You were good enough to become part of them, as the sixth Phantom man."

Kuroko's grip on his drink tightened, almost crushing it. Kagami noticed the change immediately and continued observing the boy.

"…That's what they thought, as well." Kuroko said, hands slightly shaking. "All they wanted was to win. Nothing could beat us…. But we weren't a team." He explained.

"…More like 'I was not part of it'." Kuroko said. "I wasn't part of their team at all…" He bit his lower lip, making things awkward for Kagami.

"…I was too scared to face the truth." Kuroko said absent-mindedly. "They treated me like I was just a toy they could discard whenever they wanted." He started weakly. Kagami looked shocked. "Hey, that's not how a team should work!" He said, feeling sympathy and anger for Kuroko.

"He replaced me." Kuroko said in an emotionless tone, staring at Kagami weakly. Kagami's eyes shook, he has never seen Kuroko like this before. He might have met him for a while only, but that was enough to see how much he could show any emotion.

"I'm the old model." Kuroko said. "_He _is the newer model."

Kuroko could feel like he was breaking, although his face betrayed any emotion. "…I was too soft to be part of their lives."

"I could never beat them. I'll never-"

Kagami stood up. "Hey, what kind of thought is that?" He asked, determination lacing his tone. Kuroko looked up at him. "If anything, it sounded to me like you were desperately trying to keep up but they just wouldn't budge."

The other stayed silent.

"Don't say that you can't beat them." Kagami said. "You can. You have a new team, right?" Kagami asked rhetorically. "Trust us."

Kuroko looked down…

After the moments in the diner, both of them walked silently.

Kuroko was first to break the silence. "…Kagami-kun, do you like basketball?" He asked calmly. Kagami eyed him. "Huh? What question is that?" He grinned. "I want to be the best, I want to beat those assholes for doing that shit to their teammate,"

"Language, Kagami-kun."

"And I want to surpass my master, as well. Of course I love it."

Kuroko smiled gently. "…Is that so?"

How much this Kagami reminded him of Aomine.

"…You know, Kagami-kun, a shadow can't exist without a light." Kagami gave him a curious look. Kuroko looked at him again.

"And I am that shadow." Kuroko said, smile fading. "I live behind the light. I'm the support." Kuroko stopped walking. Kagami followed his movements and stopped as well.

Kuroko then looked hopeful. "So Kagami-kun…"

"Can you be my light?" He asked.

Kagami blinked at him before grinning. "Interesting." He said giddily.

"Sure I will." Kagami agreed, showing his fist to Kuroko. Said boy looked curiously at him.

Kagami gave him a whole-hearted smile. "Let's be partners!"

Kuroko, for once, felt happiness ooze from his heart. He smiled, giving back a fist to Kagami's. He had a thankful look on his usually emotionless face.

"Right."  
-

* * *

**And then they got hit by a truck.**

**Lol, quick again~**

**No, I have decided that Kuroko's relationship with Kagami in this story is PLATONIC. Meaning: Nuuu, they hav the relationship of brothers they are not all romance and crap**

**but!**

**i ship it too, sadly they will not be the pairing of this story.**

**Brotherly! KagaKuro**

Anywayss, **please tell me of any grammatical errors**. I'll gladly change it back!

**Thanks again to EVERYONE who reviewed, followed, and favorite-d this story!**

Please **tell me of any ideas that comes to your mind**. I'd be glad to know what was coursing in your minds as you read.

Soo…. Yeah.

Thanks! **Read and review!"**


	4. Sweets

"Kuroko, pass!"

"Catch, Kagami-kun!"

The Seirin Basketball team stared the interaction between the two. "W-Wow…" Izuki murmured.

"When did they start getting along like this?" Tsuchida asked, amazed by the coordination between Kagami and Kuroko. Riko merely smiled. "Maybe something happened yesterday." She said. "After all, both of them found out each other's strong points in the mini game."

The ball Kuroko was about to pass hit Kagami in the face, earning pained yelps from the young man. "What the hell, Kuroko?!"

"I merely passed the ball towards your direction."

"You could have been more gentle!"

"How can one be gentle in passing a ball?"

"I meant you shouldn't pass it like you're trying to throw a cannon ball at me!"

"What would be the point if I make a pass anyone could catch?" Kuroko sighed, still keeping a straight face. "Ah, Kagami-kun is a Kagamidiot."

"You little-!"

"I am not short. You are just ridiculously tall.**(1)**."

The others merely felt beads of sweat roll down their faces. "They're best friends, alright." Many of them muttered.

"Alright, what are you guys staring at, anyway? You're supposed to be practicing, not watching those two be idiots." Riko said commandingly. "Double the training menu!" She said, skipping away.

Hyuga and Mitobe gave her disagreeing looks, while the first years wanted to cry for having their already-torture training menu get doubled.

Kuroko stopped, breathing heavily. "I think I had enough for today, Kagami-kun. I need to pick up the medical supplements…" He sat on the floor, trying to control his breathing.

"Hey, are you okay? I've never seen you like this before." Kagami asked, concern laced over his tone. Kuroko shook his head. "No, this is normal. I always experience this after doing something stressful."

"Then shouldn't you _not_ play basketball?" Kagami asked. Kuroko huffed a little. "It's not that bad, everyone can experience this." Kuroko looked away. "I just happen to be a part of that."

"Kuroko. You've only been passing to me for 10 minutes."

Kuroko didn't reply. He stood up when he was sure he could catch his breath. "I just need to energize a little." Kuroko said reassuringly to Kagami. He then turned to Riko who was talking with Hyuga about something. "I'll take my leave now, coach!"

Riko thought for a moment. "Sure, practice is over already."

Before Kuroko could leave, Riko gave him a camcorder. " Oh, and Kuroko-kun, I need you to observe at Kaijo tomorrow." She said with a gleeful smile. Hyuga knew this was going to be bad.

Kuroko, unsure what to say, just nodded and left the gym.

"Riko, don't tell me…" Hyuga started hopelessly. Riko gave him a sweet grin.

"Yes! We'll be having a practice match the day after tomorrow." She said.

"Oh, dear."  
-

* * *

Kagami was walking alone, his obvious destination would be at his favorite diner. Kuroko's actions today was quite odd. But since Kuroko told him that it happened often, Kagami just shut up and let him be. That still didn't stop him from worrying, though.

"Damn you Kuroko, making me worried and shit." He grumbled furiously, kicking an innocent rock from some side of the street. He looked up at the sky, feeling inclined to do so.

"You're acting too weird." Kagami said to himself.

* * *

Kuroko was heading towards a different direction. It wasn't towards Maji's. In fact, Kuroko didn't feel like having milkshake at the moment. He felt like filling another desire he couldn't always refuse.

Sweets.

He went to the local small restaurant-café or something. He went to the cashier, who greeted him after noticing he was standing there for last 30 second. "What is it you want to order, dear?" She sweetly asked.

"One strawberry shortcake, please." Kuroko said, handing over some money.

The cashier gave him his change. "Thank you, sir. Table 8," She gave him a table number.

Sitting down, Kuroko rested his chin on both of his hands. Another memory came into surface.

* * *

_"May I ask what is that you're drinking?" _

"_It's a vanilla milkshake, stop sounding like you're disgusted. This is the only thing that can disguise my obsession from my friends."_

_"Desserts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner isn't a great idea for a balanced diet, Tetsuya."_

_"I dislike unsweet things."_

_"How come you eat the food the others make? I doubt those are made from sugar."_

_"…I try to be polite."_

_"Then what about the ones I make for you?" He asked with a smirk._

_"…For some reason, everything you make for me tastes sweet." He replied with a gentle smile. "I think you're the only one capable of that, Seikkun."_

_Both of them let sweet echoes of laughter come out of their mouth. Kuroko never noticed the light frown on Akashi's face right after._

_None knew what their newfound love will fall into._

* * *

"Um, sir?"

Kuroko snapped out of his trance, seeing a waiter with the food he ordered. The waiter looked a bit concerned, but went away after Kuroko confirmed that he was fine.

He stared at the tasty-looking shortcake in front of him. Taking the fork from beside the plate, he took a piece and put it in his mouth.

It tasted sweet. Just like any dessert would taste like. At the same time, it only made him lurch from the memories that kept coming back to him. He didn't know what he was feeling. That was weird, he was sure he cut off any trace of emotion after Akashi did that to him.

"Even if he's not here, he still manages to confuse me." Kuroko muttered, a hand unconsciously roaming up his head.

_**'….tastes the sweetest…'  
'when eaten barefoot…'  
'but I can't ever do that with you…'**__  
_  
He was in deep thought, not even realizing he was almost finished eating the cake.

_'…If he made me another dessert, will it stay the same sweetness I always tasted from him…'_

He gulped down the last piece.

_'Or will it taste different from what it once was….?'  
__**(2)**__  
_-

* * *

**next day**

"Kuroko Tetsuya, you're excused for classes today." His teacher informed him. "Apparently, you're supposed to observe something for the basketball club."

Everyone looked around, trying to find him. Kuroko watched in amusement as their eyes frustratingly searched around for him, and finally stood up when he felt like he was hiding for too long.

"Thank you. I will be taking my leave now, sir." Kuroko said, taking his bag. Kagami gripped his wrist. "Wait, where are you going?"

Kuroko gave him a stoic look. "I am heading to Kaijo's practice." Kuroko said. "Coach wanted me to take note of how their training procedure flows." He said. Kagami let his wrist go, giving a light sound of unsure approval.

"I'll see you later, Kagami-kun."

With that, Kuroko gave one final bow before leaving the classroom.

* * *

"Man, practice is harsh-ssu!"

"Hey, Kise, stop complaining. Do you want me to punch you again?!"

"Agh! Sempai, not the face!"

"There they go again…" one of the players said, their names too un-needed to even mention. "Geez, they look like brothers who're fighting over who gets the last piece of candy." Another said.  
"Be quiet, you two." The coach of Kaijo commanded. "Resume with practice. We don't have time to put up with your stupid arguments."

"Yes, coach." Both the junior and senior said defeatedly. "Right, you heard the coach!" Let's go back to practice and finish up." Kasamatsu lead his team to the court, and all proceeded to continue their training regimen.

Kise frowned slightly when he heard one senior talk about sweets. He felt sad whenever he heard any reminders from his past. He clutched his hands tightly.

It's been a year since the last time he saw his old team.

A year since they all broke apart.

…A year since he had seen Kuroko Tetsuya.

Everyone wondered where the boy could have gone. It was not like him. Sure, he disappeared from time to time only to reveal he'd been standing behind them the whole time. But the last time he disappeared, he never came back. He never showed his face again. All that was left from him was the heartbreaking club resignation form that appeared in his open, empty locker.

The worse part was no one seemed to have been affected.

Murasakibara looked uncaring when he saw the note.

Midorima only thought that it was only Kuroko being weak.

Aomine didn't even _flinch_ at the mention of Kuroko quitting.

Akashi was unreadable.

Mayuzumi only smiled victoriously.

He didn't know why he had left. Kise reminisced about the time when he figured out the cute little things the phantom man had.

His love for adorable things.

His blunt nature.

His naivety.

His love for sweets.

Kise thought he'd be able to learn more about the youngest team member by the time they were going to graduate from middle school. Sadly, that didn't happen. Kise became too full of himself, and he hated himself for it for a long time.

And Kise could only regret how he didn't notice what they were doing to their dear teammate. He could have noticed and stopped Kuroko from leaving. But no-, he was stupid and hesitated to even talk to Kuroko whenever he seemed lonely, or whenever he seemed so deserted.

He still hasn't forgiven himself for ignoring Kuroko when he needed him the most.  
Kise had started to lose some respect for Akashi the moment he realized what was going on. Of course, Kise wouldn't outright admit that he didn't like what Akashi did. He didn't have a death wish. He liked being alive.

And that person who didn't deserve the title 'Phantom Sixth Man'….

"….What the hell was Akashicchi thinking…?" Kise wondered exasperatedly. He still didn't understand. Akashi was a _bastard_ for doing that. Didn't he love the adorable ex-phantom? Why was he such a sadistic little nutcase back then when he replaced Kuroko?

Okay, this kind of thought is getting extreme.

Whatever Akashi did was unforgivable. Knowing Kuroko, he'd probably be unable to refuse any kind of apology from Akashi. That's how nice Kuroko was. Kise sometimes despised him for it because he makes the stupidest decisions sometimes, but he appreciated him nonetheless.

The letter containing only four words that was revealed to all the Generation of Miracles made Kise even more ashamed of himself.

_**'I am a coward.'**_

He also remembered what Akashi said after seeing the letter.

_"…He means he's scared of facing the truth… Scared of facing us."_

Kise could only bite his lip as he tried to think of what he could have done for Kuroko

"Kise! How long are you gonna stand around for!?" Kasamatsu exclaimed angrily, making Kise shiver in fear a little. "C-Coming!"

The blonde went to the bleachers to set his things up.

Kise sighed. "Sempai is so mean." He mumbled to himself, hoping no one would hear.

He wondered where the little blunette was right now… Wherever he is, Kise could only hope for the best. _'Would I be able to meet him again? Even if only for a moment…'_ He thought hopefully, before releasing a sigh.

"It wouldn't happen in a million years." Kise said to himself with a rueful smile. "I should get going, or that violent mean sempai will hurt me again."

"…It's not nice to talk about your seniors like that, Kise-kun."

Kise turned to the direction of the voice. He was shocked when he saw a familiar boy with blue hair and eyes staring at the clipboard he was holding.

"K-Kurokocchi?!"

* * *

**Ugh, I hate this chapter.**

It seemed so… Rushed…

**Tell me of any mistakes or opinions!**

Are you reading this? Tell me you're reading this.** Answer: Do you like the story so far?** **Keep reading the author's note**, there might be some stuff you'll learn, or stuff **I need you guys to answer**,, thanksss!

Anyway, **sorry for being late.** (actually, I'm always two days early, just so you know…) I** was working on chapter 3.5.** XD If the winner is reading this, yes, I'm still working on it. I woke up too late. Don't worry, I'm almost** halfway there.**

**IMPORTANT: If you're reading this, then I need you to answer this question .**

'Do you understand what is going on with Kuroko and what he is thinking?'

**If I don't see an answer, I will post this a day late. –u-**

**THANKIEES FOR THE REVIEWS, FAVES, AND FOLLOWS! OMG, I DUNNO HOW I GOT HERE**

IF YOU READ THIS NOTE, SAY **KAPPA**

**(1)- Anyone reminded of Edward E****lric's short rants?  
(2)-If anyone manages to guess what he means, I will forever be amused****.****  
**


	5. Bitter

Please **check out my art for this story**! **Link is on my profile**. :)  
**Sorry for this crappy chapter**…. Please **review and tell me what you think** so I can change it! Also, please **READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE** right after this story. There's **something you might be interested in** that** you won't regret reading** the note.

* * *

"Kurokocchi! Wha-what?! When did you get here?!" Kise asked immediately, surprised to see his old teammate.

"…I've been here the whole time." Kuroko said, not facing Kise.

Kise felt a bead of sweat roll on his cheek. _'He's lying. He's absolutely lying.'_ He thought once he saw Kuroko let out a heavy breath and sweat on his face. "R-Right…"

Heavy silence filled the air between them.

"…So, Kurokocchi… How's it going?" Kise asked awkwardly. Kuroko didn't reply immediately, which made Kise concerned.

"It's okay, I guess." Kuroko replied, watching Kise's other teammates work on their training. Kise frowned. "Are you sure?" He asked, sincerely worried for the younger boy. "It's just… You disappeared without telling us where you went! You completely made me worried!" Kise said.

Kuroko's eyes slightly narrowed, if you squint, you could see disappointment in those blue orbs. "…Only you were worried...I see…"

_'Crap, Kise! Wrong choice of words!'_ Kise mentally slapped himself. Kise frantically gestured his hands as if he was saying he was wrong. "A-Ah! Yeah, you made me worried, but the others too-"

"Kise-kun, please refrain from talking to me too much." Kuroko said stoically, but in a polite tone. "Your captain will be upset."

_'…He doesn't want to talk to me…' _Kise thought in a disappointed way. He gave Kuroko a fake, happy smile. "Ah, well, let's catch up later, okay?" Kise said, fingers crossed. Kuroko immediately noticed this and stared at Kise. After a while, he sighed and nodded. "Alright."

Kise mentally applauded himself. At least he could find a way to keep up with his dear Kurokocchi.

Kuroko watched him go towards his team's direction, and took this as his cue to do what he was there for. He turned on the camcorder Riko gave to him, and set it on the bench with an angle that can catch each player's movements more accurately. He started taking down some notes for each player, even thinking up on how to describe how their training menu is set.

* * *

**-Kuroko's Notes-**

Hayakawa Mitsuhiro

**-17**  
**-185 cm (6'1)**  
**-77 kg /Judging from how much he could carry/training regimen includes lifting of heavy objects/**  
**-August 18**  
**\- Blood B**  
**-Power Forward, 2nd**** year in highschool.**

**-Talented at rebounds  
-Has an odd habit of pronouncing 'L' instead of 'R', vice versa, player #10  
-Physical Ability: 7/10  
-Technique:5/10  
-Stamina: 10/10  
-Mental Strength: 8/10  
-Special Ability: 5/10  
-As long as kept from making rebounds, can be easily countered**

* * *

He continued observing the player further, but after seeing there was not much to take note of, he moved on to the next player.

* * *

**-Kasamatsu Yukio  
-3****rd**** year, captain of the team  
-Violent  
-Is like Hyuga-sempai, obsessed with respect for seniors and all that  
-18  
\- 178 cm/ 5'10  
-66 kg(other members kept flaunting the number around)  
-July 29  
-Has wide intellect, talented at drives, turnarounds, and three-pointers  
-Physical Ability: 8/10  
-Technique: 8/10  
-Stamina: 9/10  
-Mental Strength: 9/10  
-Special Ability : 5/10  
-May be a threat in future matches**

* * *

"Sempai, pass!" Kise yelled.

"Who do you think you are, trying to command your seniors…"

Kasamatsu didn't pass to him, instead he shoot for a three-pointer. He kicked Kise's butt, an angry tick mark on his face.

"…Like that?!"

Kuroko watched the Interaction between the two. His eyes narrowed. That was not how a captain was supposed to treat his teammates.

_'Me and that senior of his are going to have a long talk tomorrow.'_  
**  
**after hours of observation, Kuroko finished up with the players' information, and afterwards, he completed the data he needed to bring to the coach.

Kuroko re-watched Kise's style of play on the camera.

_'I see. Kise-kun has improved over the year.' _Kuroko thought. _'He might be a threat to us in the championships.'_

While Kuroko was continuing to watch their practice on the recorder, he noticed Kise was the only one who kept looking at his direction. Kise made a hopeful smile at Kuroko, but the latter didn't notice earlier. He saw Kise pout at his direction before being hit by a ball to the face.

_'See, Kurokocchi? I've become even stronger!'_ Kise thought when he saw Kuroko looking at something from a camcorder. He couldn't wait to hear what Kuroko's thoughts were about this new improvement of his.

After a few more minutes of preparing to leave, it was finally dismissal and Kuroko thought it was time to call it a day. He stood up, noticing the approaching Kise with a huge smile on his face.

"Kurokocchi! Did you see that? Did you see how stronger I am now?" Kise exclaimed like a child, making Kuroko grimace a bit at the noise. "Yes, Kise-kun. It's only been a year, but you have improved greatly."

Kise grinned, feeling happy Kuroko acknowledged his newfound strength.

"Kurokocchi…" Kise started awkwardly, the air around them becoming heavy. Kuroko merely stared at Kise, as if he was anticipating the next question.

"…How have you been holding up…?" Kise asked awkwardly. Kuroko thought for a moment. "I guess I'm fine." Kuroko answered.

Kise and Kuroko fell into silence again. "Ah, let's not talk here. The gym might get locked." Kise said with an awkward laugh, taking Kuroko's hand and walking out of the gym.

"…Come to think of it, Kurokocchi, no one knows where you went." Kise stated cheerfully. "Care to share with me?"

Kuroko didn't answer immediately as if he was thinking about it. "If I answered your question, you will bug me until I die."

"So mean!" Kise cried.

Kuroko turned away, smiling slightly. Kise never changed.

Kise's eyes shone brightly when he saw that small sweet smile grace Kuroko's face. He never thought he'd be able to see him do exactly that.

"Kurokocchi, are you still playing basketball?" Kise asked hopefully. Kuroko looked down. "…In a sense, I guess I am."

Kise tilted his head, confused at his answer, but he didn't question it. "Oh, right!"

"What were you doing here?" Kise asked, or in a more accurate sense, whined. "You never told me you were coming to visit!" He threw himself to hug the smaller boy, who gasped for air from his gesture.

"K-K-Kise-kun… Can't breathe.."

"Ah! Sorry!" Kise immediately let go. Kuroko struggled to regain his composture, and when he succeeded, he gave a sigh.

"That is not a nice way to show affection towards others, Kise-kun."

"I said I was sorry…"

"I was here because I was sent to get information about your team." Kuroko said bluntly. Kise blinked. "Huh? So that means… You're the manager?" He asked incredulously.

"Please don't sound so surprised. I am completely capable of doing what my position is set to do."

"No! Actually, I'm surprised." Kise grinned. "Wouldn't you rather be a player instead?"

Kuroko side-eyed him. "No. I quit basketball." He said bluntly.

"Eh? Quit? Why?" Kise asked, surprised. "Don't you love baske-"

"I quit ever since the Generation of Mircales found a replacement for me."

Kise's eyes widened. Kuroko? Quit because of _them_?

Kise was going to tell him how sorry he was right now. He can't continue facing Kuroko like this if he hadn't even apologized properly.

"Kurokocchi, did you really know how worried we all were?" Kise asked. Kuroko didn't face him as they walked along the road.

"Please do remember: I'm not part of your team." Kuroko said casually. "It was Akashi-kun's policy to not worry about non-teammates and focus merely on their own, was it not?"

Kise grimaced at the blunt statement. _'He even called Akashicchi by his surname!' _

"True, but…"

"Kise-kun, if you were all really worried for me, wouldn't you have come and realize the pain you threw at me after the match with Meiko?"

Kuroko's voice cracked a little. Kise's eyes widened a bit. Whatever the reason why Kuroko sounded like that, it must have been so hurtful for him to remember.

"Kurokocchi, I'm-"

"There is no need to apologize to a weak coward, Kise-kun." Kuroko interrupted. Kise wanted to cry with how Kuroko seemingly threw around the words Akashi said to him without even batting an eye.

"…In the end, you made the right decision." Kuroko said with a smile. "Replacing me, you got to enjoy your alone time with the new sixth man." Kuroko said, his smile dropping. "How lovely."

Kise bit his lower lip. The last statement was obviously laced with sarcasm, if not for the monotone voice he used. "Kurokocchi, I never liked that guy! He… He doesn't deserve your title." Kise said, grabbing Kuroko's shoulder and turning him around. "_You_ are the real one! He's… He's not the real phantom! He's just an imposter who Akashi dumbly picked." He said. Kise felt hurt when he saw how those blank, blue eyes become filled with tormented, unforgiving emotions. Even so, Kuroko never said a thing.

"…If your statement was true, Kise-kun, I would never have left the team for your sake." Kuroko said lowly, his hair covering his eyes.

"Kurokocchi, what do you…"

"That's the reason why you hesitated to talk to me, right? I was a weak bug. A coward who couldn't face you right after I resigned." Kuroko suggested.

Kise was frozen. He couldn't talk as he helplessly listened to the cold, painful, venom-filled words that came out of the blunette's mouth.

"That is very reason why you all forgot about me." Kuroko continued. "The reason you started ignoring my pleas, the reason you _abandoned_ me,"

Kise weakly grimaced at the emphasis on the word.

"The reason you replaced me with someone who is just like me, but very different at the same time."

"Kurokocchi, whatever you're saying, that's not true!" Kise shouted, desperate to give the message to the boy. "We never wanted to replace you. You were one of a kind!" Kise exclaimed. He failed to see the growing frustrated look on the other boy's face.

"Everything you're saying about abandoning you, replacing you, they're not true! We regret everything. _I _regret I couldn't have stopped you from leaving when I had the chance." Kise almost screamed in frustration. Frustrated at himself, if needed a proper explanation.

"Whatever you're saying that no one cared about you leaving, I swear, that is not the truth!"

"Then what is?" Kuroko interrupted. Kise let go of his shoulder, seeing that he was gripping too harshly.

"To be honest… I don't know what is the truth anymore." Kuroko said weakly.

"That time, you all looked like you wanted to throw me off a cliff. You all looked so relieved when you saw my replacement. I never saw you guys that happy with me when I was around. You even looked disgusted at me whenever I try to cut in." Kuroko said, voice growing gradually louder each word.

"And now that I have left and decided I never want to remember your faces and the memories again, one of the Generation of Miracles is here, trying to convince me that they regretted the moment they threw me out." Kuroko then looked at Kise with the hardest gaze that could make anyone feel just how tortured he was.

"Tell me, Kise-kun,"

Kise didn't reply.

"Just what are you guys trying to do to me?"

Kise wanted to cry, hearing the broken tone so evident in his voice. "Kurokocchi, I…"

Kuroko felt small tears threaten to fall.

"I have to go now, Kise-kun. I have other errands to attend to." Kuroko said immediately, regaining his reserved form and leaving Kise to his regrets.

Kise never felt so guilty in his entire life.

* * *

**THIS FELT SO RUSHED, I WANTED TO KILL PEOPLE.**

I'M **SORRY**!

PLEASE **TELL ME OF ANY MISTAKES OR OPINIONS**

**It didn't seem too rushed, did it? D':**

If I get** a few complaints**, I** will re-do this chapter instead of finishing chapter five. *cries***

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**THANK YOU SOOOO MUCCCH! I'M SORRY I GAVE YOU A CRAP CHAPTER!** *cries pathetically* IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN

To apologize, **I will give you a little fact that you might be interested in.**

_**IMPORTANT NOTICE, IF YOU READ THIS, SAY 'UTAU'**_

**Kuroko Tetsuya** has **his own UTAU voicebank**, **created by** someone by the username of **Ponton**. :D **He has** the** covers of 'Donut Hole', 'Error', 'Deep Sea Girl', 'Poker Face(vocaloidsong)', 'Two-Faced Lovers' , and many more**! Sadly,** I can't find his cover of 'Coward Montblanc'** because** EVERYTHING IS IN KANJI**

The** links to Poker Face, Two-Faced Lovers, and Error are in my profile**. :

**I will definitely make it up to you guys! Promise!**


	6. Untitled

Tip: **If you want author's notes to be short, only read the bolded words.  
**  
**Sorry for this late chapter! **_My mom and my brother were being assholes. I hate them both so much. Why did I get stuck with them, anyway? They both hate me, and they like blaming me for every shit they've done. Losers. Someday, I will stab their throats and I will regret nothing.  
_**  
Enjoy the chapter!**

IMPORTANT:

Should I add the suffixes? Or should the story remain the same, only allowing suffixes 'Kurokocchi', 'Kurocchin', and 'Tetsu-kun'?

* * *

Kasamatsu watched his junior fidget on the bench. Kise seemed uncomfortable with something, and Kasamatsu was very determined to figure out what was going on in his mind.

"Kise," Kasamatsu shook his younger companion's shoulders gently. When Kise snapped out of his what-seems-to-be depressed trance, the blonde gave him a fake, cheerful smile. "Ah! What is it, sempai?"

"You okay? You seem out of it…" Kise asked, putting his hand on Kise's forehead. Kise smiled smugly at his sempai and shrugged him off in a nice way. "My, my. Could it be? Sempai is worried about m-" He was cut off with a fist to the head.

"Ah-owww! That really hurts!" Kise whined, crocodile tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "But really, I'm fine! I was just thinking, that's all."

Kasamatsu eyed him suspiciously. "…The words 'Kise' and 'thinkng' are not meant to be put together in the same sentence."

"Sempai!" Kise whined hopelessly. Kasamatsu stared at Kise again, a gaze similar to how a father would look at his child when he is having a problem he can't face alone. Kasamatsu sighed.

"Look, when you're _sure_ you're alright, go back and join the drills." Kasamatsu instructed. "If you keep saying you're fine and I find you sulking in a corner, I will kick your pretty boy face and suspend you from practice until you get your emotions straight."

Kise pouted. "I think I'd be dead before that happens…."

"How dare you talk back to your seniors like that?!" Another kick to the butt.

"Ow! Okay, okay! I'll stop!"

Kise watched his captain hesitantly resume his activity. He smiled. _'Kasamatsu-sempai has a weird way of showing that he cares.' _

When his daydreaming stopped, his smile faded. He took out his phone, looking through the contacts.

_'I hope my ears won't bleed after I tell what happened yesterday.'_ Kise hoped, gulping. When the other line finally picked up, a feminine voice could be heard.

[Hello! Momoi Satsuki speaking!]

"Momoicchi?" Kise answered casually.

[Ki-chan! What made you call?]  
"Well… Remember when you said to us that even you couldn't find where Kurokocchi went?"

Both became silent.

[…What do you mean, Ki-chan?]

"Well… I…. _kinda bumped into him yesterday and I know where he is!_" Kise said the last part so fast, Momoi couldn't catch it.

[What? Speak like a normal human, Ki-chan.]

Kise sighed. "Momoicchi, I met Kurokocchi yesterday."

Silence…

[You WHAT?!]

_'I knew it.'_ Kise thought with a grimace. His poor ear.

"Calm down, Momoicc-"

[You met Tetsu-kun and you never told me?!]

"Momoi!" Kise shouted frantically, as if feeling that someone might hear. This earned him odd looks from the others, which he just waved off and told it was his usual weirdness.

Momoi was stunned when she heard the seriousness in Kise's voice.

"…Sorry…"

[No, it's okay. I went overboard.]

"Momoicchi…Please don't tell Aominecchi about this, or to anyone."

[Eh? But why? I'm sure Daicchan will be happy to see Tetsu-kun!]

"Kurokocchi… When I met him, he seemed different. He was still polite and all, but his eyes…" Kise gulped. "It was like staring at a room filled with ice.."

[…Tetsu-kun…] Momoi sounded worried over the phone.

"We had a nice conversation before that." Kise said. "We caught up a bit, and his school was-"

Momoi made a panicked sound from the other side of the phone.

[Ki-chan, the line might not be safe… You know _him._] Venom and fear could be felt through her words. Kise knew what she was talking about.

"You're right, Momoicchi." Kise said. "Let's talk later, okay?"

[…uh-huh.]

With that, he ended the call.

* * *

Riko found herself staring at her youngest member. For some reason, the light-blue-haired boy looked visibly tense and tired. It made her worried. '_Did something happen?_'

"Kuroko-kun!" She called to him, running towards his direction. She gave him her casual smile. "Did you get the medical supplies yesterday?" She asked. Kuroko thought for a moment, and faced her when he found his answer. "Yes, I have. The pack will arrive in a few moments."

_'He's so polite.'_ Riko thought, almost unnerved. _'It's better than being badmouthed. At least he's more respectful. I guess I'm used to impolite morons that it surprises me there could be people like him.'_

"How about the info? Did you record everything as instructed?" She asked again. Kuroko nodded, handing her his clipboard and her camcorder. "I made each data as detailed as possible and collected each video of their gameplay." He replied, showing off three CDs to prove his point. The coach blinked, and smiled proudly. "I guess I can really trust you with these kind of things." She said truthfully.

"Good! Now let's see the data you collected." She said, reading the written report Kuroko gave her. Everything was pretty detailed. Kuroko even wrote the habits and movements of the players, 'for future reference' was Kuroko's reply. Kaijo's training menu filled the next two pages . Everything from A to Z(metaphor) was recorded and when she checked the camcorder, she realized she could analyze the players' body capabilities just from the video itself. It was either that, or Riko was just exaggerating.

Riko felt a bead of sweat on her face with that. "T-This is quite overboard, Kuroko-kun."

Kuroko looked worried-the closest he could make to a worried face, at least. Boy this kid is expressionless.- "Did I do badly?"

Riko shook her head. "No! In fact, this is more than what we need!" Riko patted the boy's head, making his face become a little red from the motherly action. "Good job, Kuroko-kun!"

After fussing over the newfound ideas for a training regimen so happily, Riko calmed down and turned to her junior. "Kuroko-kun, you seemed quite down. "

"I did?" Kuroko repeated, although Riko could tell that his thoughts weren't too into the subject she started. Riko frowned at this.

"Yes, and I was wondering if something was bothering you." Riko said straightforwardly. Kuroko shook his head. "No. I didn't run into anyone."

"Kuroko-kun," Riko started seriously. "I never said anything about you running into someone."

He silenced himself.

"Coach, I promise you." Kuroko gave her a half-hearted smile. "Nothing is wrong. "

Riko sucked on her lips. She was planning on countering him, but declined her decision and just sighed. "Listen, Kuroko-kun." She breathed in. "If you ever need something, _anything_, you can come to me, or any of your teammates." She gave him a smile. "Just trust us!" She said.

Riko then walked towards the other members. "We're like a family now."

Kuroko stared at her, his heart feeling more lighter.

_'We're like a family now!'_

Kuroko found himself smiling as well.

It may have lifted some of his heartache, but of course, he is still troubled by his own thoughts.

* * *

**Later…**

The Seirin Team was in silence.

"…Kuroko got all this information in a day?" Hyuga tried to clarify once more, flipping each page of Kuroko's data unbelievingly.

Koganei sweat-dropped. "He's intense."

Kagami whistled in amusement. "Alright! With the data and our training menu, we'll beat their asses to the ground!"

"Kagami-kun, this is just a practice match."

"Practice matches and real matches are the same!"

"Kagamidiot."

"Hey!"

"Both of you shut up and keep walking! You're making people stare." Hyuga said commandingly, hitting both Kagami and Kuroko in the head.

"Sorry." Kuroko mumbled, nursing his poor aching head. Kagami clicked his tongue, earning a glare from his senior. "Apologizing, okay, okay! Sorry!"

As they got to the bus stop in silence, Kagami took the time to observe his partner. He noticed Kuroko's shoulders were slightly tense, and the slight furrow of his eyebrows made Kagami wonder what could possibly trouble Kuroko that he'd show even the littlest hint of uneasiness.

Kuroko took out a bottle from his bag, a disgusting green liquid was contained in it. Kuroko took in a large amount of the drink, or for lack of better words(In Kagami's mind), monstrosity in his throat. Kuroko noticed Kagami staring, and took this as an opportunity to tease him.

"Oh, dear. Kagami-kun, please don't stare at me so lecherously like that."

"Shut up!" Kagami growled. "And what are you drinking? It looks disgusting!"

Kuroko blinked, and eyed his bottle. "From what I know, this is a product called 'Melon Sweets'." He frowned. "And I like it. Is there something wrong with it?"

Kagami sweat-dropped. _'Melon Sweets? Isn't that the ridiculously sweet drink that ranked 1__st__ place in the Worst Tasting Beverages of All Time in Japan?'_

"U-Um, Kuroko…" Izuki started. It looks like the others were listening to their conversation the whole time.

"Isn't that the terribly sweet, chemical filled drink?" He asked.

"Yes." Kuroko replied, continuing to drink from said beverage.

"Even though you know what that thing is made of?" Riko continued.

"It is."

"Even it's sickeningly filled with sugar?"

"Uh-huh!" Kuroko said with an uncharacteristic, cheerful voice. _Creepy._

_'...I never knew Kuroko was fond of sweet stuff.'_

"I can't believe you'd be able to tolerate drinking _that_." Kagami exclaimed. "That shit's horrifyingly sweet, I'm surprised you can gulp half a bottle down without dying from diabetes!"

Kuroko huffed. "I don't think it's too sweet. It tastes just fine." He said emotionlessly.

"Are your taste buds broken?!"

_'Strange.' _Kuroko thought. _'Neither the taste of natural sweetness or artificial ones can satisfy me.' _ He thought.

_'…But then, he broke through the barrier.'_ Kuroko thought solemnly.

"…Will it be the same, though?" Kuroko thought out loud.

"Huh? What are you saying?" Furihata asked, gaining the attention of the others to Kuroko. The teal-head straightened himself up, shaking his head. "Nothing, I was just thinking."

Riko frowned. _'This has been going on since morning.' _

She knew she wouldn't be able to get answers out of him, so she silently wished for Kagami to figure out the problem.

**(1)**

* * *

"Well, we're here!" Riko said, in awe along with the rest of the teammates as they took in their environment. The gym was huge, and they saw the other club members of Kaijo practicing on the other court.

"Huh? We're practicing on a half-court?" Riko wondered. Coach Takeuchi eyed them, before approaching.

"You're here. Welcome." He said. "Which one of you is the coach?" He asked directly. Riko raised her arm. "That would be me!" She said proudly. Takeuchi looked surprised. "Huh?! You're not the manager?"

Riko felt a tick mark on her face. "No, but this guy is!" She brought Kuroko in front of her. "T-That's too sudden, coach."

Takeuchi stared.

"You see, he went for a little visit here yesterday." Riko said with a smile. Takeuchi then stared at Kuroko. _'That's strange. I didn't see him here yesterday…'_

"Pardon me, but I'd like to know why we're only using the half of the court?"

Takeuchi didn't hesitate to tell her the answer. "There's not much to learn from this practice game." He said. "I don't want them to waste time, so I had them practice while this is going on."

"…They think we're weak." Izuki murmured.

Riko clicked her tongue. "Doesn't matter." She said. "We'll show them how wrong they are."

"Ah! Kurokocchi!" Kise was surprised and delighted to see him again. Kuroko's eyes fell low and he looked away.

Seirin watched the interaction between the two. "You know him, Kuroko?" Hyuga asked. Kuroko nodded. "…He's one of the Generation of Miracles. Kise Ryouta-kun."

At this point, they failed to notice Takeuchi go to his own team.

Kise frowned at him, but decided to ignore it and gave a smug, confident smirk to Seirin. "So you're the ones lucky enough to acquire Kurokocchi, huh?" He eyed them from top to bottom.

"Too bad." Kise said.

"Huh?" Kagami walked and stopped right in front of Kise's face. "You looking down on us, blondie?!"  
"Blondie?!" Kise muttered depressingly, as if the word stabbed him on the head. He sighed, and only smiled.

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Kise said, approaching his dear Kurokocchi. "Hand him over to us."

"Huh?!" The whole Seirin team practically shouted, Kuroko looked surprised.

"Why would we do that?" Riko looked angry. "Kuroko-kun is not an item to be given to you whenever you want!" She said seriously.

"You show your limits easily." Kise said confidently. "It would make anyone see that you're not capable of utilizing his skills. You don't deserve him." Kise's eyes showed a dim glow.

"He was ours in the first place, and I don't see any wrong in taking back what is rightfully ours."

Kuroko clenched his teeth at this remark. _'Even if I was thrown away like garbage, they still think I'm their possession.' _He clenched his fists. _'You disgust me sometimes.' _

"What are you saying?!" Kagami exclaimed. "Kuroko isn't some toy to be thrown away and re-acquire whenever you so damn please!" He closed in on Kise's face.

Hyuga stepped up. "He belongs to no one, but we're pretty sure he'd not choose some arrogant bastards over his teammates."

"T-That's right!" Furihata piped up. "W-Why would he come with you a-a-and what's with the way you're talking about him?" He reminded everyone of a shaken Chihuahua, but his action was appreciated regardless.

"If this is how the Generation of Miracles treated him, then I'm not surprised why he moved to our school." Izuki said calmly.

Kise glared at the group. _'They talk as if they're his friends!'_ He closed his fists. _'We were the ones he always depended on!'_ he wanted to scream at them, but felt like it was wrong.

_'Then again, we did treat him like shit.'_ He thought grimly. _'I guess they're right with that.'_

Kuroko showed no reaction to what is happening, but deep inside, he felt touched to hear his coach and his team fight for him. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he stepped up.

"Kise-kun." He said. Everyone halted.

"I don't know what might be _wrong_ with you," He said calmly, eyes slowly looking up to Kise's own. "But I must respectfully decline your offer."  
"But Kurokocchi!" Kise whined. "Can't you see? Anyone can tell they can't hone your true potential!" He tried to convince him to no avail. "Let's be a team together, Kurokocchi!" He said. "I want to make it up to you, as well." He whispered, eyes shining with pure regret. Kuroko didn't feel his remorse. To Kuroko, it was still empty.

"Enough with this." Takeuchi interrupted their drama. "We have not much time, so I suggest we start now."

"Kise, show them to the locker rooms." The coach commanded to him, and then left.

"Please focus on your own matters, Kise-kun." Kuroko said, his team already walking out. "We will be fine on our own."

Kagami stopped, looking at the blond with smug eyes.

"So you're one of those GoM people, huh?" Kagami grinned. He turned back to his direction, eyes not wavering away from the model.

"Show me what you got, pretty boy."

* * *

**SO SORRY FOR THIS LATE CHAPTER! D:**

I_ encountered some crappy family problems last night_, **so I'm sorry!**

**(1)**: I came up with this, and I'm surprised it was almost exactly the same as the one in the TOOOOOOOOT

*keep reading! I will tell you where this idea is similar from!*

I have to admit,** I'm a bit wary of why I received only 6 revs in the last chapter, but it's okay! XD I just want to release my ideas to everyone! So thank you**! And then there's a small appearance of Momoi-chan! *scheming*  
**  
I'd like to thank your words of encouragement! I love you guys so much**, we haven't even met in person**. *Cries disgustingly* You guys are the best! Thank you so much!**

And a** little thank you gift** for everyone**: (Everything **should be** in my profile, under the words "Thank You Gifts'" !)**

Go to my profile! If you like Midorima being adorable, Takao trolling, and cats,

then that is the** best video **for you!  
**  
If you like AkaKuro, look at my profile**! There's…** Unexplainable yaoi **in this though**, so beware**! Ehehe…** Make sure you're wearing headphones. Don't worry! The song is good, but the pics are, err, you know where I'm at in this.**

If you like **DEATH NOTE and CRACK**, go to my profile! Trust me, you will like this. XD

I have like: 4 of them lol

**Also! I found a manga based on Coward Montblanc. Hopefully, it might have you get what the song meant! *the meaning in this story is different, tho* It's on me profile desu!**


	7. Remorse

Momoi slowly walked towards Tōō's gym, trying to process the information she had received from Kise. Kuroko has been found. After a year of no calls, no messages, or a hint of where he was, he wasn't found out.

It still surprised Momoi how Akashi himself couldn't find Kuroko. He knew everything, but he couldn't even find his closest friend!**(1)** It was either he really couldn't find Kuroko, or he was busy enjoying his sweet time with that unacceptable replacement.

Momoi was upset with Akashi. He was scary, sure, but even Momoi could stand up to him. She remembered the time after Kuroko had left them.

_"Why would you do that, Akashi-kun?!" Momoi demanded an answer. She was near tears. She knew how important Kuroko was to Akashi. She also knew how much Kuroko had trusted the red-head._

_"I merely did what was right for this team, miss Satsuki." Akashi answered with venom, yet that annoying smirk she so wanted to slap off him did not vanish. "After all, we must prioritize the process of our teamwork, am I not correct?"_

_"If that was what you really thought, then why did you make him leave?" Momoi asked. "Why… Why did you replace him?!"_

_He fell silent for a few moments, frowning when he found his voice. I did not replace him. He gave up his position willingly."_

_"Willingly, my ass…" He could hear her mutter. She looked up at him with tear-stricken eyes. "You don't even care what he feels! You're the worst! I hate you!" She exclaimed, small droplets of hot tears falling from her eyes._

_"M-Momoicchi… Calm down…" Kise tried to intervene. Momoi ignored him. She was slightly angry at him, too. He was Kuroko's friend. Why didn't he try to stop him? She was feeling bitter at every single member of the Generation of Miracles._

_"Momocchin, scary." Murasakibara murmured. "It's not our fault Kurocchin is so weak he couldn't keep up with us." He said naively. "Besides, Akacchin has no reason to keep someone like him in the team. He'd only be dead weight."_

_Momoi glared at him, making him slightly straighten up his body. Midorima was the only one silent out of all of them, and Momoi appreciated th_at.

_"Hey, Satsuki," Aomine walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You should calm down. Tetsu can take-"_

_"To hell with you!" She screamed, slapping his hand off her. Everyone stared at her in shock. Of course, this is only normal. Her beloved Tetsuya was slipping from her hands because of them, and they didn't know. She loved him dearly, even if Kuroko showed no sign of the same affection she has for her. It was natural for her to be so upset, but hearing her curse at her own friends was shocking enough._

_"You… You're the reason Tetsu-kun cried that one time!" She revealed. "If you hadn't been such an 'oresama' in front of him, he wouldn't have found a reason to think of leaving the team." She cried even more._

_Aomine stared at her, his eyes unfeeling. For once, Momoi __**hated **__seeing those eyes. She faced everyone else. "If only none of you changed…" She shook, her hands travelling to her head. She remembered seeing Kuroko cry after he told her about what happened between him and Aomine. She remembered the heartbreaking tears that escaped her Tetsu-kun after the match with Meiko. Remembering them all at once made her want to cry herself and be angry at her team for shattering him._

_It was all their fault to her eyes._

_"If only none of you changed, Tetsu-kun would still be here with us right now! If only you didn't act like a bunch of arrogant dimwits!" She screamed. "Because of you…"_

_"Tetsu-kun may never be the same again!"_

_"I hate you. I hate you all…" Momoi cried, her heartbreaking sobs echoing throughout the gym. Realizing she couldn't stand in the same place with them anymore, she left, running away from them._

_The Generation of Miracles stared at her, realizing they have lost two of their friends in only two days._

_**'Tetsu-kun may never be the same again!'**_

_How right she was._

* * *

"…Tetsu-kun…" Momoi muttered sadly. She sighed, sitting on a bench. She was at the gym now. Seeing she has nothing to do, she decided this would be a good time to relax her nerves. She has never forgiven any of the Generation of Miracles at all. Yes, she was talking to Kise rather nicely, but that was because she knew he was really trying to help her find Kuroko. The others, she has not forgiven. She wondered what could have been the life of her old friends if none of them had been reduced to overpowered dummies.

She sighed to herself. "…I'll meet Tetsu-kun again." She smiled optimistically. "Ki-chan found him, and he knows where he is. I can finally see him again!" She said silently, the happiness in her voice barely contained.

"And then we'll date… Get married… And have babies…" She squealed. "Ah~! The idea of being the one to have Tetsu-kun's first and vice-versa is so… Invigorating!" She said, feeling as if she'd have a nosebleed if she thought even further.

"Ah, Momoi-san!" One player of Tōō called, interrupting her.

"What is it, Sakurai-kun?" She asked sweetly.

"Coach wants you to find Aomine-san." He said sheepishly. "I'm sorry for interrupting you! I'm sorry for existing…"

_'Gloomy mushroom.'_ Momoi thought, a bead of sweat dropped on her face.

"Thank you for the reminder, Sakurai-kun!" She said cheerfully. "I'll be leaving now."

"Y-Yeah."

-+-

"Aomine-kun." She called softly. She was on the rooftop, where she suspected her idiot childhood friend would be.

"Huh?" A lazy voice replied to her. "Oh, Satsuki. It's you."

Momoi frowned. Sure, she was mad at him for hurting Kuroko, but she would still respond to him and will be worried about him since she was still acquainted with him.

Aomine didn't look at her. He knew she hated him. Hate was a strong word, but Aomine felt like he deserved it. He didn't like how she looked so depressed whenever she was around him. The girl used to smile a lot back in Teiko. Back when they were still good friends.

Too bad, their relationship broke apart after they had abandoned their real sixth man.

"…Hey, you still hate me?"

"…" Momoi didn't reply. Even if this was the case, Aomine took it as a yes and sighed.

"Coach wanted to know where you were." She said glumly. "Since I know you're here now, I guess I can come back." Momoi proceeded to walk off.

"Wait."

Momoi halted. She looked at Aomine in the eye.

"…Satsuki, I have to ask you one thing." Aomine started. Momoi's gaze didn't waver.

"What?" She asked.

"…Why did you attend Tōō with me?" He asked curiously. "Wouldn't you rather be with Tetsu?"

Momoi looked down.

"If I knew where Tetsu-kun went, then I probably wouldn't be here right now." Momoi said softly.

Ouch. She made a point. None of them knew where he went. He just disappeared, not to be seen until their graduation.

"…Why, do you want me out of your circle, too?" She asked bitterly. Aomine grumbled. "No. Never said that, did I?" He rolled over his back, swinging his magazine back and forth lazily.

"…Do you think he'd like to see me again?" He asked. Momoi blinked. "Tetsu. I want to see him." He said casually. "But will he want to see me?" How surprising.

Momoi felt a bit happy. She smiled. "If you truly regret your actions and make sure you make it up to him, maybe he will." She said as advice.

"Make it up to him, how?"

Waiting for an answer, he realized Momoi had already left.

Momoi knew the right way Aomine could apologize to Tetsuya.

He had to change back.

Only one problem lies within this method: Will Kuroko forgive him that easily?

* * *

**After Kaijo's Practice Match With Seirin…**

Kise could not believe it.

Kaijo couldn't believe it.

Even Seirin didn't believe what happened.

Seirin won.

"Hell yeah!" Hyuga cheered, snapping out of his trance first. Soon, the other members followed, feeling proud of being able to beat Kaijo in a match. It was not officially a real match, but hey, it's something.

Kuroko, who had been present in the game, could feel the satisfaction running in his nerves. This was what he wished for.

This was also what Kagami wished for. So that means:

one down, four more to go.

He heaved for air. He forgot: He wasn't supposed to be too stressed out. Feeling woozy, he carefully sat himself on the ground. Riko immediately noticed, and asked Mitobe to bring Kuroko over to the bench.

"You did a great job, Kuroko-kun!" Riko said with a big smile, ruffling the young boy's head gently. He got injured by Kise –this was an accident—during the game, and he got subbed out. After overhearing that he was needed to win the match, he forced himself in. Riko knew he shouldn't be pushed in so quickly after being injured, but Kuroko was persistent. He just promised her that he'd immediately let himself be subbed out if anything too harmful crosses his path.

At first, Kaijo's team didn't pay much attention to Kuroko. He was just the manager of the group, and this made Kise feel disappointed. He wanted to have Kuroko join in since if he ever beat him, Kuroko will have to comply to him –not that Kuroko would follow him. Kise was the dog, not the master.- and join Kaijo. How surprised they were when the score was 23-32 (Kaijo's favor) and they were so sure the match was one-sided, Kuroko had been added to the game. He completely controlled the flow of the game, turning the tables and winning with the score of 100-98.

Kise found himself silently crying from losing. "…Huh?"

Kasamatsu immediately noticed this, and sighed. He smiled slightly, patting the younger blond on the back. "What are you crying for?" He grinned at Kise. "This is just a practice match. We'll pay them back at the Finals."

Kise wiped away his own tears, smiling a real smile. "Yeah!"

Kuroko watched them, remaining impassive. He, along with the rest of the team, lined up with Kaijo to thank them for a good match.

How tortured poor Kuroko was when Riko put him in a tight hold, he almost broke his spine. Maybe he should have told Riko in the first place that he doesn't last too long with his misdirection….  
Before he had left, Kise had caught up to him, eyes looking quite sad and humble. "Kurokocchi…" He started, not tough enough to look Kuroko in the eye.

"I'm sorry for everything." Kise said, smiling sadly. Kuroko remained emotionless. "I'm sorry for not being able to stop you." He said, voice wavering slightly. "I'm sorry for not backing you up back in Teiko."

Kuroko didn't say anything. It seems like Kise hadn't learned. Even if this was the case, Kuroko did not think Kise crying earlier and apologizing as if he murdered someone-that's how he sounded to Kuroko- . Thinking for a few moments, he just let out a small breath, jabbing Kise in the ribs.

"Oww! Why are you so mean, Kurokocchi?!" He asked, tears streaming down his face in a comical way.

"…Stupid Kise-kun." Kuroko mumbled, walking off.

Kise blinked. "…Huh?" He murmured in confusion. Kuroko didn't say anything about his apology. He frowned. Did that mean he didn't forgive him yet? Then again, Kuroko wouldn't jab him in the ribs without a good reason…

Kise's eyes widened.

Had Kuroko forgiven him already?

* * *

"Kicchan, you _moron_!" Momoi shouted at him. "I've been waiting here for 40 minutes! Where were you?" She demanded. Kise bowed in apology. "I'm sorry! We had a practice match!"

"And Kurokocchi's team won." Kise said, smiling. Momoi halted from hitting Kise's face. She never realized she started smiling, herself.

"Tetsu-kun… Won?" She repeated to herself. She laughed happily. "Haha! Kicchan! Kurokocchi and his team won!" She started jumping like a little girl. She faced Kise again, who was staring at her weirdly.

"So, Kicchan. Did you learn your lesson?" Momoi asked. Kise looked confused. "…I dunno what you mean, Momoicchi, but Kurokocchi jabbed me in the ribs earlier. I didn't know if he still hated me or if he forgives me."

Momoi blinked. Kuroko had a tendency to be a bit violent to get his point across, but this time, neither of them knew. She sighed. "Anyway, let's go somewhere." She said.

"So, you said earlier that you know where Tetsu-kun goes to." She said.

"Yeah, he went to Seirin." Kise said. "He has a good team…" He recalled the way the group had defended Kuroko from him. Seirin did deserve Kuroko after all.

"And you know what, Momoicchi?!" Kise exclaimed like a little kid. "He's the manager! "

Momoi stopped, almost tripping on her own feet. "What?! But you said he won against you-"

"Yeah! Wrong words were used, sorry!" Kise said. "He's still a player."

"That's nice." Momoi smiled. "He hasn't given up on basketball…" _'Trust Tetsu-kun to keep his promise.'_

"Yeah." Kise grinned. "He could actually be as good as you, if not better."

He was expecting Momoi to fume, but she only fangirled harder. She and her 'lover' had the same positions, after all.

Both of them ended up going to a restaurant-café. "I wonder what must be going in Tetsu-kun's mind." Momoi wondered out loud. "Sometimes, he's so unreadable." She said, smiling fondly. Kise pouted. "Sometimes? More like _always_." He whined. Both of them sat on a seemingly empty table. "Even so," Kise started. "That's what we love about him, right?" He laughed. Momoi smiled gently. Kise might be the only one who's off of her 'I-want-to-kill-for-hurting-Tetsu-kun' list. "I hope he forgives me…" Kise said, smiling sadly. "But it seems impossible… Not after what I did to him."

"Can't Say No Sundae for table 6." A waiter announced, going to their table. Kise and Momoi let out a confused sound. "Um, excuse me, but we didn't order a sundae." Kise said. The waiter blinked. "But the roster said it was for table 6."

"It's mine." A voice between them said. Both froze.

"T-Tetsu-kun?!" Momoi exclaimed in shock. The waiter had left them already, leaving the two teenagers in shock.

Kuroko smiled gently. "It's been a while, Momoi-san."

Momoi felt silent tears of joy fall from her eyes. She went to hug her beloved Tetsuya, who didn't move and accepted the affection she displayed.

"Tetsu-kun, I missed you!" Momoi said through sobs. Kise looked awkward, especially since he had just met Kuroko earlier and had apologized in such a corny way.

"…I missed you, too." Kuroko said near her ear, making Momoi blush. "T-Tetsu-kun, such a gentle, passionate man…"

She fainted.

Before she could fall, Kuroko caught her, and placed her in her seat.

"…Kurokocchi…"

"Kise-kun." Kuroko said in acknowledgement.

"Do you forgive me?" Kise asked. Kuroko stared at him with no emotion.

"I do not."

Kise hit his head on the table. "Kurokocchi! Stop being so blunt!" Kise said, nursing his hurting head. Kuroko remained expressionless. "Do you really think I'd be able to get over what you did that easily?" Kuroko asked with narrowed eyes.

Kise looked so ashamed.

"Kurokocchi, I know what we did was unforgivable." Kise said seriously. "And I don't expect you to forgive me so easily, either."

Kuroko listened with interest.

"But I just want you to know that I'm so ashamed of myself for deserting you." Kise said. "I want you to know I'm really, really sorry that I didn't stand up for you when Akashicchi had taken an imposter to take your place."

Kuroko didn't seem convinced, but he was listening. Kuroko appreciated his words, but he still isn't hearing what he wanted to hear.

Kise stood up, and bowed to Kuroko.

"Kurokocchi, whether you forgive me or not, I'm very sorry for what the Generation of Miracles did, "

Closer…

"I'm very sorry for trying to poach you into Kaijo,"

Closer…

" I'm sorry for becoming such a big arrogant bastard,"

…Okay, not the words he wanted, but it passed. Just a little bit more...

"and I'm sorry for what I have done to your old friend from Meiko!"

Kuroko's eyes widened. He felt his breath hitch a bit at the mention of his friend. Kise was truly regretful.

"Kurokocchi, I didn't realize before." Kise started. "I never realized. I thought at first that you only left because of Akashicchi. But after our match today, I learned why." He said.

"You left because we left you behind. You left because you couldn't take how our heads have been growing too big." Kise said, looking Kuroko in the eye.

"I get that you might not want to see me anymore. So if that's what you truly want…"

"I'll gladly not bother you again."

Kuroko and Kise had a staring contest for a few seconds. Then, Kuroko looked up at him. His blue eyes were not as cold as Kise saw earlier. Instead, they held warmth.

"Kise-kun, you jerk." Kuroko said out of the blue.

"That wasn't the answer I was expecting…" Kise mumbled hopelessly.

"My ice cream melted from your talking." Kuroko announced, his brows furrowed, and was he pouting? Kuroko stood up, pushing his cup of melted ice cream towards Kise. "You have to pay me back for that." Kuroko said bluntly, turning to Momoi.

Kise stared in shock as to what he did.

Kuroko placed a small, gentle kiss on her forehead. Smiling. Oh. My. God.

His smile then faded, turning back to Kise. "Do not forget that you owe me another sundae, Kise-kun." With that, he turned, and left. Kise stared in surprise. After snapping out of his trance, he found himself smiling in a victorious way. "Kurokocchi…"

He turned to Momoi. Her face was red, hearts forming in her eyes. "Tetsu-kun kissed me! A PROPOSAL!" She screamed, earning weird looks from the other customers. "You were awake the whole time?!" Kise asked in shock. Even so, one thought made him feel an unseen weight be lifted from his shoulders.

He was forgiven.

* * *

**IMPORTANT: No, Momoi x Kuroko isn't decided! READ THIS FOR FECHS SAKE **

**(1)- ****Momoi doesn't know that Tetsu and Seijuu are in a relationship~**

**Yeah, I can't really describe basketball scenes well… I hope this was okay enough!**

**Congratulations to Kise-kun~~**

**I hope this didn't thread too fast! Please tell me. Now this one is the more rushed-feeling. Please tell me what you think! If you think it's rushed, tell me immediately so I can change it.**

THANK YOU SO MUCH! **50+ FAVES, 70+ FOLLOWS, 70 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thank you for supporting. TT^TT**

Also, I am **already thinking of a sequel** and I ain't even done with this yet. Darn it, brain.


	8. Another Point of View?

**Sorry for this lame chapter! DX I thought it was good at first, then I reread, and I couldn't change it once you've already seen!**

**Please tell me if it's alright enough. Thanks for the Faves, Follows, and Reviews! I love you guys! Sorry if this was out of your expectations.**

* * *

"Eh? Kuroko-kun's not around?" Riko rechecked every spot where the boy could have been hiding. Even her players didn't know where he was. All attention turned to Kagami.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Kagami yelled. "It's you who placed that crab-hold on him while he was injured."

Riko looked guilty, comically dropping to the ground. "He deserved it, ehehe… He didn't tell me something important immediately…" Her team just stared at her in either amusement or pity. After that small drama, Riko stood up and regained her composture. "Right, who has his phone number?"

Kagami raised his arm, handing her his phone. Riko scrolled through his contacts, staring at him in pity afterwards.

"…Kagami-kun…" Riko looked sad. "You only have your father, this Himuro guy, some Alex person, and Kuroko as your contacts?"

The others tried to hold back a snicker.

"Hey, stop laughing!" Kagami demanded with a tick mark on his face. "I don't think having so many contacts is important, alright?" He defended. Hyuga cleared his throat. "Right, right. Hey, after this, give the lonely tiger your phone numbers." He said to the others. Kagami grumbled at the nickname, and just ignored it.

Riko immediately pressed the call button for Kuroko. She set it up to speaker mode, knowing very well that the others are curious about his condition, too.

"Coach, why are you trying to call me?"

Riko turned around, seeing Kuroko behind her. She screamed.

"W-When did you get here?!" Riko asked. Kuroko frowned. "I was standing here the whole time."

Kagami observed him. He seemed to be panting, sweat rolling down his face.

"Liar!" He shouted. "You just got here!"

He was met with silence.

"You're not even denying it!"

Riko sighed. "I'm glad you're fine. Let's start practice, we have no time to waste."

As they all got ready in the locker room, Kagami had went up to Kuroko to ask him another question.

"Kuroko, do you forgive him?"

"Hm?"

"The annoying blond guy, Kise." Kagami said. Kuroko looked away. Kagami blinked, unsure of what Kuroko's answer will be.

"No." Kuroko said seriously. "I don't forgive him completely."

"But you do forgive him by some percent?" Kagami clarified. Kuroko thought for a moment. "I guess you can say that." He said. "But to his defense, he didn't completely change. He only lusted for victory, his personality didn't change." Kuroko smiled fondly.

"Besides, the sole reason I don't forgive him 100% is because he still hasn't paid back the dessert I wasted from talking too long with him." Kuroko darkened to some extent, earning slightly freaked out looks from the others.

"Just how protective are you for your desserts…?" Kagami wondered, before letting out a groan. "And I thought you were just obsessed with milkshakes."

"Life's full of surprises." Kuroko merely stated before leaving them in the locker room.

"Surprise… He fainted because of Sir Prize." Izuki thought, thinking the lame pun was awesome enough to be put in his notes.

"Izuki, stop." Hyuga said tonelessly.

* * *

_"Greetings from the Oha-Asa program! Cancers, beware! You will have an unexpected meeting with a familiar person you have not seen for a long time! What is to be wary of? Chances of meeting this person will bring you instant bad luck for the time being ! Don't miss out on your lucky item of the day: a sweetened product to neuter the bad luck away!"_

And that was how Midorima found himself walking to school with a small box containing chocolate mousse. However he prevented the dessert from melting, he did not know. He was in deep thought. He had sweets as a lucky item, which would only mean one thing…

He had the chances of meeting Murasakibara, Akashi, or Kuroko respectively.

Murasakibara had this obvious addiction to food, so there was about 85% chance that it would be him Midorima will meet. He'd probably end up losing his lucky item and ending up as road kill on the streets if Murasakibara ever saw a vending machine with food.

Akashi, he did not know the reason, but Midorima couldn't help think it has something to do with his ex-teammate he had replaced. Akashi would probably skewer him for not being able to find the teal-haired boy immediately, or demand he give his lucky item as a form of repent to get back on Kuroko's good graces. Midorima couldn't measure correctly, but he was sure there was a random chance of this happening.

Kuroko… Yes. He was the person he had not seen for the longest time, but that didn't really mean it was automatically him. The smaller boy is fond of sweet products, even going as far as to have desserts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at times. Kuroko had the tendency to show up at random times and would cause mini heart attacks at absolutely unnecessary times. Yes, also a high but random chance of happening.

As he neared Shutoku's entrance, he heard a familiar voice that brought music and annoyance to his ears.

"Ah! Shin-chan~!"

_"Here comes the noisy dimwit."_ Midorima thought grimly.

"What's that? A dessert? For me?" Takao swiped the dessert out of Midorima's hands. "You didn't have to, Shin-chan."

"Moron! That isn't for you." Midorima took the dessert from Takao, fixing his glasses. "This is my lucky item. I have terrible luck and I have to keep this with me at all times." Takao puffed his cheeks out. "If that was the case, I think you should have chosen a product that wouldn't melt immediately."

Midorima clicked his tongue at him. "Shut up, Takao."

"So, have any of you found Kuroko yet?" Takao asked seriously. Midorima didn't answer immediately, as if he thought deeply for the answer. "I don't know. And I don't have time to care for someone who is not willing to show up." He said fiercely. Takao snorted. "Tsundere. You do care for the dude, you're just being a stingy old Shin-chan."

Midorima flushed instantly. "N-No, I don't! Stop putting blood in my mouth when you don't even know what is going on!" He said defensively, earning an eye-rolling from his partner. "Right, right. My bad."

"Besides, he was a coward." The greenhead mumbled, earning a concerned look from Takao. "He said so himself, nanodayo." He taped his left hands again, earning an 'I'm-getting-slightly-tired-of-this' look. "I don't deem cowards as something worth worrying about."

"He's not a coward," Takao said seriously. "He did the right thing, actually. Leaving you guys, not to be seen again. That Akashi tore him apart, after all. I'd be surprised if he stayed even if he treated him like shit." He whistled. "Then again, he managed to stick with your crap for two and a half years."

"I'm not doing this to make you feel bad, Shin-chan." Takao said with a smile. "I'm just telling you this to remind you what you've lost and your motivation to bring it back." That was true. If Takao really wanted Midorima to feel like crap for what he did, Takao wouldn't be hanging around him in the first place.

No matter how much Midorima wanted to protest, Takao was correct.

"Takao, you can sometimes state the most bluntest words that has exquisite meanings. You truly are one of a kind." Midorima said, looking away. "But it's not like I'm saying this because I'm impressed with you. I am merely stating what I really think about your ridiculous taste in words and your unusual ability to make them sound so meaningful-nanodayo."

"You and your deepness." Takao said light-heartedly. "Then again, that's what brought us together, right? Right?" Takao laughed excitedly. Midorima just sighed in defeat and rubbed his temples. "Takao, you can be deep down intolerable, I can almost admit I want to choke you whenever you speak nonsense."

"I know, that's why you love me." Takao teased.

"…Shut up."

Takao laughed at his plain words, both of his hands at the back of his head as they proceeded to the gym.

He used to hate all of the Generation of Miracles. They broke him and his team apart. If he had not learned that Kuroko going from school to school just to apologize for those assholes, he would have lost his love for basketball. It was thanks to Kuroko that he was still playing and he was able to meet his wonderful Shin-chan. Takao learned that not all of the Generation of Miracles were bad. He met Kuroko when he suddenly appeared at his doorstep right after their match against each other in middle school. He used to look so awful, now that Takao recalled. He wondered how Kuroko had been able to tolerate the arrogant teenagers for two whole years. During their middle school, Takao and Kuroko would catch up from time to time, just so the teal head would be able to lift some of the burden from his shoulders.

And then the certain incident happened.

Takao couldn't believe how stupid and _heartless_ the captain of Teiko had been to Kuroko. He was cruel, and that made Takao boil in rage that time. He swore he would never forgive those jerks for what they have done. How could they replace their own teammate like a broken toy when they have manipulated and betrayed him like he was a just a puppet for their own amusement?

Takao didn't meet Kuroko after that. From what he had heard, Kuroko had quit basketball and refused to show up until Graduation, only to be seen for a few seconds on the stage, and disappear immediately, never to be seen again. Kuroko had told him he was moving away, to a new house and a new school. He remembered one conversation he had with him that particular night.

_"You're a jerk, Kuroko!" Takao whined. "Why do you need to leave?"_

_"I was weak." Kuroko merely replied. He looked up to the raven-haired boy with sad eyes, but a small smile graced his lips. "Don't worry, Takao-kun. I won't be moving too far from where I am now. Only a few miles away, to be exact."_

_"I don't think 100 miles is a few miles, Kuroko." Takao answered deadpannedly. Kuroko huffed a little, obviously defeated in a starting argument._

_"It would only take a few minutes by train."_

_"30 minutes doesn't seem too nice. Not to mention you'd need to take multiple rides just to get to your house."_

_"Takao-kun is surprisingly smart in guessing how many minutes it would take to get to my new house." Takao let out a sound of protest._

_"Why don't you tell me where you'll live and go to, anyway?" Takao whined. "That's mean!"_

_"I don't want any of them knowing where I went." Kuroko said. "I doubt they'd chase after me, since they have no use for me anymore, but I don't want the risk of them hunting me down."_

_"But, Takao-kun," Kuroko started. "You once told me you were attending Shutoku, right?"_

_Takao nodded. "Yeah."_

_"…One of them will be attending there, too."_

_Takao looked disgusted._

_"I don't know which one of them is attending, but please, do me a favor and be a friend to him." Kuroko bowed to Takao. "I despise them for what they have done to me, but I wouldn't want them to have no one as support by the time they move. I highly doubt there would be anyone who will like them when they have humiliated them in multiple tournaments."_

_Takao felt hesitant to accept the favor, but since this may be the last time he'd be meeting Kuroko again, he sighed and accepted._

_"You have my word, Kuroko."_

_"Thank you, Takao-kun."_

"…Kao…"

Takao snapped out of his trance.

"Takao!"

"Huh?" Takao muttered, hitting an incoming door straight to the face. He bounced back, holding his face in pain. "Why didn't you warn me, Shin-chan?!" Takao asked, tears streaming down his face from the pain. Midorima huffed and pushed his glasses up.

"I was trying to, but you weren't listening." Midorima said stoically. "Your fault for not paying attention."

Takao sighed, pouting. "Meanie."

"Moron." Midorima said immediately.

"Shin-chan…" Takao started.

"What is it?"

"….You'll apologize to him, right?" Takao asked. "After all… You've learned what you did was wrong, and you constantly tried to plan ideas to be able to make it up to him…."

"H-How…?!"

"I've heard and seen you, Shin-chan." Takao replied. He grinned. "It makes me really happy to know you aren't truly a jerk like the others!"

Midorima sighed, and looked away.

"Even if I tried to, I'm not sure he'll forgive me easily." Midorima unconsciously gripped his lucky item tightly by the handle. "After all we've done to him… Not even time can make him forget about what we had done."

Takao gave him an encouraging smile.

"Then, we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

**Sorry for the crappy chapter, guys. I _do_ have something good planned, so please bear with this chapter for now! I'm really sorry. Tell me what you think, guys!**

**So this was obviously AU! Takao had met Kuroko earlier than expected in this, so I hope you think it doesn't ruin the story altogether!**

**Regarding the pairings... Lol, i decided to be evil and let you guys try and guess until this story ends. (jk, I'll have to tell you eventually)**

**Read, Rate, Review!**


	9. Can't Face Him (Short Chapter, I'm srry)

Kuroko found himself going home alone on a rainy Friday. Practice was finished for the day, and they earned a day off in return for their hard work.

_'Ah, I might get sick again if I don't hurry up.' _ He thought. Kuroko remembered the time he went home soaking wet from the rain. Yes, it happened right after he thought he had left basketball for good. His mother had been so worried to see him shivering from the cold, and she was horrified when she saw the dead, dreadful look in her son's eyes. She was so sad, and his grandmother had taken the liberty of helping him get out of his high fever.

When his parents and grandmother found out why he was acting like someone had died, he had seen his father act so upset, seen his mother cry for the second time –his grandfather died a few weeks prior-, and felt his grandmother pamper him until he had become numb from the painful memories. His family was too overemotional, but he had loved them nevertheless. After all, who would want to see their weak, fragile little boy suffer from his only friends' betrayal?

When Kuroko had told them about his decision to rejoin the basketball team in Seirin, his parents were hesitant, especially his mother. His father and grandmother were supportive of his decision, and he only had to promise that he will find someone he could actually trust. That didn't mean they wanted Kuroko to join a team. There was a risk of _them_ hurting him too. Sometimes, Kuroko wanted to sink in a hole for having too overprotective parents. Sure, he was weak and he had poor health, and that little accident with his ex-friends happened to worsen everything up, but that didn't mean he needed constant protection every time.

It pisses Kuroko off that there aren't any buses to be spotted nor a train safe enough to use when he absolutely needed one. Even if there was one, the driver wouldn't notice him waving from the bus stop and continue driving away. He also didn't bring an umbrella, either. Curse the random bad weather and his lack of presence. He had no choice but to run with his bag over his head. Since the rain was heavy, he had to find a place to stop by. Looking around, he saw Maji Burger just a block away. With no moment of hesitation, he ran towards the diner and escaped the pouring sky.

"Mother is going to kill me." Kuroko said deadpannedly, examining his wet clothes. First of all, he will be scolded for running around in the rain when he knew fully well he shouldn't because of his condition. Second, his mother didn't want to wash clothes after having finished just two days ago. He sighed. He'll just have to dry his own clothes after he gets home. Kuroko went to the cashier, and as usual, screams of surprise escaped the person's mouth. After getting his order, he went to his usual spot and proceeded drinking his favorite milkshake.

_'The rain won't stop any time soon.'_ Kuroko thought to himself, slightly getting distressed that he wouldn't be able to come home immediately. Not knowing what else to do, he sent a message to his mother so she wouldn't have to worry about him while it was pouring cats and dogs outside.

_[Sender: Tetsuya]_  
_[Recipient: Mother]_  
_[Subject: I won't be home for a little while]_

_[Mother, do not worry about me. It's too harsh a weather to rush home, and I can't find a bus that won't stop for me due to my lack of presence. I am currently staying at Maji's until the rain has let down. Until then, I will be late in coming home today._

_Love,_

_Tetsuya]_

_-SEND-_

Kuroko stared at his message, decided he was satisfied with what he sent, and closed his phone. Then, after a few minutes, his phone rang. It was an 8-bit version of Vocaloid's **Po Pi Po**. Some customers looked at his direction, became surprised to see a boy who wasn't there before sitting in his spot now, and continued with what they were doing.

_[Sender: Mother]_

_[Ah, that's nice! Good thing you're a good thinker, Tecchan~ (≧▽≦) just like your father. I was getting worried, so it's a good thing you decided to text me and tell me where you are, what a good boy!_

_As a gift, would you like a little brother? Or maybe a baby sister? *:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡]_

Kuroko closed his phone rather too hard from the shock. He sighed, rubbing his temple as he fought of the mental images coming to his mind. _'Mother, your cheerfulness is a good thing, but please don't cross the boundaries too quickly.'_

"Jeez, Aomine-kun!"

"Yeah, yeah! Stop nagging me, woman. I'm just as soaked as you are."

"This is your fault in the first place!"

"I was hungry! I didn't want to starve."

"You chose food over your childhood friend?!"

"When in a life or death situation, food must always come first."

"How did we become friends?"

Kuroko's eyes narrowed a little at the sound of the familiar voices.

A pink haired maiden blinked, completely noticing him sitting there. "Ah! Tetsu-kun!" She exclaimed happily. Then, she blushed, remembering the previous encounter with the teal-headed boy. "T-Tetsu-kun kissed me yesterday… " She remembered, fangirling over the thoughts.

Aomine stared at her weirdly, looking around. "Tetsu' here?" He wondered out loud. He finally had his eyes on Kuroko, who seemed tense when he had heard their voices.

"T-Tetsu!" Aomine exclaimed in surprise.

Tetsu clicked his tongue, and stood up, ready to leave.

_'Just my luck.'_

He thought, almost looking so intent on leaving out the door.

_'I… I can't face him yet!'_

* * *

**Sorry for this short chapter! I have somewhere to go, and I can't leave you guys hanging for too long.**

**Also, to those who might think I will abandon this story like others do, don't worry**

**(≧▽≦) I won't! :D I don't give up easily, lol. Also, if you were one of the first few readers of this story, you may have noticed I update almost _everyday_, and I have only 1 absent! So rest assured you can expect me to update very quickly. Who knows, you might be reading chapter 8 and then suddenly there are already 9 chapters. XD**

**Sorry for this short one! But it was intended, because cliffhangers are awesome. *puts on sunglasses, trollface***

**Thanks for the follows, faves, and reviews! DX I wouldn't have gone this far if it weren't for you guys!**


	10. Fabricated

**WARNING  
SORRY ABOUT THIS BORING CHAPTER  
****THIS CHAPTER MAY OR MAY NOT SUCK**

**I feel completely disappointed in this chapter**. I did this in a rush. I didn't want to be late again DX (butiupdateevrydaypleasedunthurtme) I'm sorry if this is far from what you expected. This was actually ten thousand words +, i had to cut it into three because it was too long.

* * *

_'Please don't go near me.'_

"Tetsu…"

_'Get away as far as possible.'_

"We've been looking for you like hell!"

_'No one told you to.' _

Momoi stood there, completely unsure of what to do. She knew Kuroko didn't expect them to be there, much less be spotted by the first place. It was purely fate that brought the three of them altogether. Aomine shouldn't have approached Kuroko. That was one thing Momoi _knew_ he shouldn't do. It would only chase Kuroko away. Said young man was going to leave, but Aomine stopped him from doing so.

"Tetsu! Stop avoiding us." Aomine shouted, although it was loud enough to only bring attention from the other table. Kuroko had flinched slightly from the loudness of the shouting. He was facing the ground. He couldn't bear to look up to those eyes after seeing the terrifying glow from him that cannot be unseen.

* * *

_''What do you know about me?''_

_You don't know about me, either._

_''Teamwork, teamwork. It's not important if everyone's too strong. You're just being clingy.''_

_I'm trying my best not to be useless here._

_''I don't remember how to receive your passes anymore.''_

_...I cannot recall the face of the real Aomine-kun, either._

* * *

Momoi noticed the hard gaze of Kuroko when her eyes met his. She saddened. It seemed like he was thinking, and whatever it was, it's definitely not good. "Tetsu-kun, we're sorry we interrupted you! Aomine-kun was being stupid!"  
_  
"Hey!"  
_  
"I swear, Tetsu-kun, this meeting was unplanned for and-"

"Why would you suddenly leave the team without our consent?" Aomine cut her off, not wanting to hear her nagging. Kuroko didn't say a word. What could he say? He had told them his reason, didn't he? And he was sure Akashi had already explained the reason of his unknown departure. Why would they care about him leaving? They said it themselves. He was a weak, untalented coward who didn't deserve to be a part of their team. He didn't deserve their care, and he most certainly did not deserve being somewhat of a part of the Generation of Miracles.

All of this was confusing him. They threw him out. Called him weak, used him, thrown away like a toy that was unfixable. They betrayed his trust, humiliating his one true friend that made him leave Kuroko behind. They even brought a new Phantom Sixth Man to light, and the sudden revelation that no one in the team save for Momoi had any real bonds with him had broken him.

Aomine had blatantly told him indirectly that he didn't need him as a partner anymore, that he was too weak to support someone already as strong as him. It hurt too much, especially that one time when Kuroko had met Aomine under that bridge. It was too much of a nightmare for Kuroko to handle. All the poor boy could think was 'You're not Aomine-kun'.

Midorima wasn't one to toy with a person, but when he had said to Kuroko that no one needed him anymore in the team, and that Akashi has already got bored with him, it made Kuroko lose 20% of his respect for him. Kuroko thought he really couldn't blame Midorima, because all of what he had said was true. He just wished he sent the message to him more gently than sounding like he was mocking him right in the face.

Murasakibara used to be the sweet, childish giant Kuroko knew. Everything suddenly changed after each of them had found their potentials. Murasakibara was cold, un-caring and downright _lazy_. He was the very reason Akashi had changed, actually. He heard from Momoi that Murasakibara had dared _defy_ Akashi, saying he had no intention in listening to someone smaller and weaker than he is. The very reason Akashi had become a demon was because of him. Kuroko wondered: If Murasakibara didn't provoke Akashi, would he still be the Akashi he used to know and love? To be honest, Kuroko had been _pissed_ when he had learned about this. It was the giant who had changed Akashi for the worst. If Akashi never became Demon-kashi, the redhead would be the caring, mother-like, gentle-yet-strict Akashi he had fallen for. Kuroko wasn't one to blame other people, so he can't really outright point all the reason that Akashi had been demon-ified was because of him. **(1)**

Kise was… Well, Kuroko never really had much of a grudge with the blond. He just annoyed Kuroko, glomping the smaller boy randomly whenever he feels like it, and he had grown as arrogant as the others. But still, Kise still agreed with him on the idea that practicing was still something to be taken seriously, ever since that time Akashi had proposed that they need not practice just as long as they win. Kise was the only one who truly showed he was regretful for what he and the others had done, but the blond mutt still owed him that wasted sundae. Yes, Kuroko will bug him for that, later.

He didn't know where to start with Akashi. It pained Kuroko whenever he thought of his ex-captain and ex-… You get the point. He used to be calm and reserved, cared for his teammates and always took training seriously. He had loved basketball, and he brought out Kuroko's true potential. Each food Akashi had made for Kuroko always tasted the way he liked it, even better when Akashi was with him. They were all so satisfyingly sweet, something that Kuroko had thought to be the proof of true love. Those red eyes that had greeted him with such warmth he had never given to anyone except to Kuroko…. Became the fearful red and gold he had seen when he had been too late to save Aomine from falling into a pit of arrogance and pride. He hated how Akashi had become, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Deep down, he knew there will always be a part of him that will love the demon, but even that small, faint glow of raw emotion has begun fading. So, did he love him, or did he not? Kuroko didn't want to find out the answer.

He truly was a coward.

Whatever happened to those precious memories he had obtained with each of them? What happened to the basketball loving idiot Aomine? What happened to the caring-yet-tsundere-ish Midorima? What happened to sweet, baby-ish Murasakibara?

What happened to the Akashi he once knew?

Every memory, every moment, every second of their friendship, every _damn_ heartbeat that passed whenever he and that cruel bastard were secretly together… All of those were just fabricated from the very beginning. Why bother trying to cover it up?

Every single moment they shared together was all a _lie_.

"…tsu…"

"Tetsu!"

He snapped out of his trance. Aomine seemed like he had been calling for Kuroko the entire time. Kuroko's eyes narrowed dangerously, looking away to hide the sudden emerging of resentment that had built up in his system.

"Tetsu, I asked you a question." Aomine said firmly. Kuroko looked at him with empty eyes.

"This is odd. Why are you talking to me, Aomine-kun?" The blunette had asked tonelessly.

Momoi frowned, her own eyes shook slightly, fearing what might be the outcome of this conversation. She couldn't do anything at this point. What else was she supposed to do? Momoi thought she might just be a third wheel at this point, and so decided to sit it out, only to stop them if things became worse.

It was already worse from the start, genius.

"Huh? What are you-"

"From what I know, members of the Generation of Miracles do not speak to insignificant people." Kuroko reminded him of their rule coldly. "Much less someone who had been deemed as trash by the captain himself."

Aomine's eyes widened. "Tetsu, what the hell are you saying?" He shook the boy roughly, as if doing so will cure the boy from whatever 'sickness' he might have caught. "You know very well you're a part of the team yourself!"

"…Part of the team?" Kuroko repeated, once again, void of emotion. Even so, both Momoi and Aomine had felt uneasy with how he was talking.

"You are mistaken." Kuroko continued. "I am not acquainted with any other members of the Generation of Miracles in any way whatsoever." He sat down wobbly on a chair. "You should know who your teammates are, Aomine-kun." He said dryly, watching the evident guilty expression on his former teammate's face. "That way, you won't mistake them for a useless person."

"Tetsu, I don't know why you're doing this, or why the hell you're saying that nonsense crap," Aomine said sternly. "Aren't we partners? You should have told me what was wrong. You shouldn't have left without telling me, damn it!"

"Partners?" Tetsuya repeated, his rage slowly increasing. "From what I have seen last time, you told me I shouldn't accompany such a strong light. You told me I cannot keep up with you anymore."

"That doesn't mean I said you weren't my partner anymore!" Aomine countered. "When have I ever said that? And I never implied anything!"

Tetsuya breathed in.

"Didn't you also say you do not remember how to receive my passes anymore?"

Momoi stopped her breathing.

Aomine fell silent.

Kuroko side eyed him. "What did that mean, then?"

No answer.

"What did that mean to you?"

'It didn't mean anything!' Aomine wanted to scream out, but he couldn't find his voice.

Kuroko's face contorted into an obvious show of frustration, almost near tears.

"Then why? Why would you say everything you have said back then? Why did you break your promise?" Kuroko had asked, as if it was a direct response to his thoughts.

"Tetsu, I…" Aomine bit his lip. He couldn't counter that. Back then, he thought he had the right reasons to cut the binds between them. It seemed like his pride has got the better of him.

"…You don't know how much it hurt me." Kuroko said emotionlessly. "You don't even know what you have caused back then in the match with Meiko."

Aomine looked at Momoi questioningly. She mouthed: 'I'll tell you later!' in a somewhat dreadful way.

"…Please, leave me alone." Kuroko had said, regaining his composture. "I don't want to see you again." Both Tōō students could hear the slight breaking in his voice, making Aomine feel like shit.

"T-Tetsu, wait a second-!"

"I thought I had reminded you already, Aomine-kun." Kuroko said, walking off coolly. "We are not acquainted. You have all abandoned me, and I have abandoned you." He gripped his own arm tightly. "Please do not come after me. It will be a waste of time and effort." He said smoothly.

"Besides,"

Aomine and Momoi's eyes widened.

"I don't remember how we have become a team anymore."

Aomine didn't move. Guilt was the only emotion he could feel right now.

What has gotten into Tetsu?

He felt guilty. He was one of the people who had done this to Tetsuya, after all. He wouldn't be forgiven as easily as he had thought.

Momoi watched with a heartbroken expression as Kuroko left. Even so, she knew very well that Aomine and the others deserve this. 'You reap what you sow' was the right thing to describe the current situation.

This is what happens when you deem the person you care about as 'worthless'.

"….Damn it…!" Aomine exclaimed, punching the wooden table beside him.

"D-Dai-chan!"

* * *

"I can't believe I just did that." Kuroko thought to himself out loud.

_'Somehow, this situation feels familiar...' _He thought grimly, remembering the last time he walked home soaked from the rain.

Kuroko kept walking, even though his soaked clothes had slowed him down. It was tiring, running around in a weather like this. Nature hates him, he guessed. It wasn't what he planned. He was supposed to go to some sheltered area. He knew Aomine was an idiot, but he could find Tetsuya wherever he planned to hide. Especially with Momoi around. She had something like a 'Tetsu-kun radar' in her mind or something.

How did they pop up all of the sudden?

He stopped in his tracks when he heard whimpering from the side of the road. He back-tracked, looking down to see a shivering, black-and-white dog looking at him with such pleading eyes.

"Hello, there…" Kuroko mumbled, petting the little dog lightly on the head. The dog nuzzled its cheeks on Kuroko's palm, licking it, almost as if to say 'please take me with you'.

Kuroko looked up, which was a bad idea since the raindrops got in his eyes. He had put the small little dog in his bag, losing his only way to stay at least half-soaked from the rain. He smiled at it. "Well, I can't leave you nder such a horrible weather now, can I?"

He pat it on the head once more before running again. Right, he had no choice.

He was running back home.

Well, he had already guessed it.

His mother was going to _kill_ him.

"Tecchan!" She shouted, snuggling her baby boy like a teddy bear. She didn't even mind that he was soaked as a sponge, and proceeded smothering him with motherly love.

By 'kill', he meant 'suffocate-until-I-pass-out-before-I-even-get-to-say-something'.

"M-Mother, please let go." He requested with a voice that sounded like he was choking… Or wheezing…

His grandmother was kind enough to bring him his house-clothes down from his room. "Oh, my. Miho, please let your son dry himself. He might catch a cold." She said, and the woman immediately let go.

After a few minutes, Kuroko came down looking more refreshed.

His mother, Kuroko Miho, looked a lot like him. The shape of his eyes, shape of his face, hair and eye color, even the lack of presence. Even so, Miho was the exact opposite of her son and husband. She was cheerful, lively, hyper, and deep down _scary_. Kuroko had seen her messages to him. Asking if he wants a baby sibling as a reward for doing something good. Yes, even Kuroko can get traumatized.

He had earned his personality from his father. Polite, quiet, calm, reserved, blunt, straightforward… The saying 'opposites attract' wasn't for show, after all. His name was Kuroko Hayato.

Grandmother Nana was a sweet, old woman. She had lost her husband over a year ago, but she never lost her sweet, understanding nature.

Miho frowned when she saw her son. He looked…. Tense. Uneasy, perhaps? She knew something was wrong.

"Did something fun happen at school today, Tecchan?" Miho asked with a smile, handing Kuroko hot milk. Kuroko smiled slightly. "Nothing much, actually." Miho laughed lightly. Even so, she knew when his son would lie. No matter how blank faced he might look, Miho would always see that something was troubling him. She knew her son too well, perhaps. She decided to drop the subject and looked at the furball on top of her son's head.

A pregnant pause between them.

"So what is that cute little thingy on your head, Tecchan?"

Kuroko blinked. He looked up, only to see the dog he found resting on his head.

"Ah, I found him in the streets while on the way home." Kuroko explained. "He looked so cold and hungry, so I had to take him with me. I hope it's alright."

Miho shook her head, taking the wet dog from Kuroko's head. "Mm-mm, he looks a bit like you."

"Mother, if he looks like me, he looks like you, as well." Kuroko said, pouting slightly. Miho blinked, and squealed in delight when she saw the childish look on her son's face. Yes, she was a Tetsuya-fangirl, too.

"So, mother,"

Miho petted her son's head. "Hm?"

"Can I keep him?" Kuroko asked, his eyes shining hopefully like an excited little puppy. It didn't help that the dog was giving her the same look, as well.

"Yes! Yes you can, my lil' angel!" Miho agreed immediately.

Kuroko gave her a gentle smile. "Thank you, mother."

Miho's eyes widened at the sight of her baby smiling a very rare and familiar smile.

"R-Right, ehehe!" She said awkwardly. "I'm going to get a towel for him."

When Miho entered the kitchen, she smiled softly.

"Such a spoiled little eggplant." She chuckled. "Even so, I can tell something is troubling you."

In the living room, Kuroko was mentally exhausting himself with thoughts from the previous encounter.

* * *

**Too OOC? Too quick? Sorry, DX I'm having a bad day, since my vacation is going to be boring. Mom would always ALWAYS pass up the opportunity to go somewhere fun with our whole family. I think the farthest she'll ever get is the mall. *grumbling noises* **

**(1) This was what I thought while watching the latest episode. I started feeling murderous when I learned what caused Akashi to become a moron.**

**sneak peak because this chapter sucked:**

_"If only I didn't become such a bastard towards him..."_

_"Kagami-kun, can I punch you until you cry?" Kuroko asked politely, but the dark atmosphere that surrounded them failed to ease their fear._

"We're fighting against Shutoku in the next two weeks!" Riko said determinedly. Kuroko felt something switch inside him.

_"…Takao-kun's school?"_

Silent tears fell from his face.

You will only regret the choices you've made when they have been done.


	11. Chatter

"Tecchan?"

Kuroko looked up to face his mother. "Ah, yes?"

Miho sat with Kuroko on the couch, offering him some warm milk. She looked serious, far from what expression she'd usually have. This made Kuroko tense, feeling slightly fearful of her. "Is there something bothering you, dear?" Miho asked. Kuroko didn't look at her in the eye anymore, only facing the cup in his hands. His mother saw through him whenever he had visible signs of a problem lingering on his mind.

"…No, nothing to worry about." Kuroko gave her a fake smile. "I'm just tired, that's all." He added, looking the other way to hide his frown. Miho's gaze hardened at the sight. "Did you get into a fight?" She asked again. Kuroko shook his head. "No, it's not a fight. Where did you get that idea, if I may ask?" Kuroko mumbled in a daze.

"You only look troubled when you've encountered unwanted faces. Right, right?" Miho suggested in a childish tone. "So, tell me. Who did you meet? Did he hurt you anywhere? Should I get the darts and-"

"Mother, stop." Kuroko deadpanned to calm her down. Miho pouted. "Geez. Tecchan, you're no fun." She muttered. Kuroko could only sigh at his mother's childishness, but he loved the way she was like that regardless. Miho, finally deciding to be matured, stopped pouting and pinched her boy's cheek lightly. "Tecchan is a good boy." She said with a sweet voice. "If there's anything bothering you, or if you need someone to listen, mama is always here."

Although Miho had said this, she knew her Tetsuya won't tell her anything. He was too good of a child, not wanting her, Hayato, or granny worrying for him for such a 'silly' thing.

"Tecchan…" She started. "Are you uncomfortable of telling me anything?"

Kuroko stayed silent, biting his lower lip. Miho shook her head and took it as a 'yes'. She stroked his head gently. "Maybe you should tell your friend. He's bound to listen to you and help you in any way he can, right?" She surmised. Kuroko blinked at her statement. He supposed he could tell Kagami… but he didn't want him to be troubled for something Kuroko's responsible for.

Miho looked thoughtful. "Ah, why don't you tell Daiki-chan?" She suggested with a smile. Kuroko almost choked on the milk he was drinking, although it was not obvious. He forgot he only told her of Akashi. Miho noticed the worsening expression her son was giving her. "Oh, dear." She muttered in an upset tone.

_She noticed_. Kuroko thought.

"Daiki-chan hurt my baby, too?" She asked, totally upset. "Don't tell me every one of your friends have done this to you!"

Kuroko could only grimace at the sadness in her voice.

She could only hug her baby tighter. "I'm sorry, dear." She whispered to him dearly. "I don't want you getting hurt anymore. I don't want you to be left all alone again. I don't like seeing you sad. I hate how it feels when I don't even know how you fare whenever you're not around me. I didn't know you were with the wrong people. I'm sorry." She sniffled. Kuroko sighed. She was getting dramatic again. It was okay, though. It was rare for children to have such protective parents. She became like this ever since he was a child. No one wanted to be friends with him since he was apparently a ghost. How dynamic his own family was, he didn't know where to start.

"From now on, tell me everything, alright?" She ordered softly. "I want to know how you're doing. I want to see for myself if your friends could be trusted."

"….But-"

"Are you defying me?" She asked darkly, although she had no intention of hurting him at all. Even so, Kuroko was unfazed as he saw a very sincere layer of concern hidden behind those blue eyes. He realized she was still cuddling him.

Kuroko smiled at his mother, hugging her waist gently to return the affection she was giving to him. "Alright. Thank you, mother." He mumbled. Miho lost her darkness and grinned, patting him on the head. She kissed his forehead, before releasing him from her death hug. "You promise mommy, alright?"

He nodded. Miho squealed at his cuteness. "Ah~! Tecchan is too adorable! I have to leave before I die of blood loss…!" Kuroko sweat-dropped at her… Weirdness.

As Miho went upstairs, Kuroko slowly lost his smile, a deep frown replacing his features. He lay his head on Nigou's fur, closing his eyes and releasing a deep sigh.

What a headache, this day was.

* * *

**Two days later…**

"Kuroko." Kagami was sitting on his chair, his front body facing Kuroko. "Math's a bitch!"

"Such profanities shouldn't be used in school, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said in a daze, not even bothering to look up at him as he read his book. Kagami pouted. "Well, it's the truth! The truth shall always be exaggerated with special words."

"Special words that can cause you an hour's worth of detention doesn't seem so special to me." Kuroko deadpanned. Kagami 'boo-ed' him childishly. "Party-pooper."

Kuroko side eyed him, and looked back at his book. "Kagami-kun… Have you ever been betrayed before?" He asked solemnly. Kagami blinked at his sudden change of mood. "Hey, what's with that question?" He asked back. "I asked you first, Kagamidiot-kun."

"What the-?! Don't call me an idiot, you Kuroko-idiot!"

"That insult is a pitiful attempt of an insult."

"Are you messing with me on purpose?!"

"...Kuroko Tetsuya is not here, he is in milkshake town." Kuroko said in a robotic voice. "Please leave a message after the beep. Bee-p." With that, he continued to piss off Kagami.

"Hey!" Kagami exclaimed. He knew his shadow can be completely messed in the head, but he wasn't expecting him to be childish! He sighed. "I swear, if you piss me off even further, I'll put hot sauce in your milkshake…." He whispered.

Suddenly, the 'end of the world' aura surrounded the classroom.

"Kagami-kun, can I punch you until you cry?" Kuroko asked calmly, yet that tone was what scared Kagami the most. "N-No! I didn't mean it, I was kidding. Just kidding!"

Kuroko sighed teasingly. "At this rate, you'll make me angry, Kagami-kun."

_'I know I don't want to see that!_' Kagami thought, sweat pouring all over his body.

"Hey! Paging Kagami and Kuroko~" A familiar voice came from the doorway of their classroom. It was Koganei.

"Coach has an announcement!" Koganei informed, dragging the two with him. "Apparently, it's important." Kagami grumbled. "It better be! We were having an important talk right there." Kuroko side-eyed him again. "I don't think our conversation about your interest in unicorns and _puppies_ is an important factor of our 'talk'." He lied. Kagami gave him a betrayed look while Koganei burst out laughing.

"…Oh, gosh… Kagami…. Them… Unicorns?! Tell me more, Kuroko!" Koganei struggled to keep his composture. Kagami gripped Kuroko's head angrily, the scene looked comical. "Kuroko, I'm going to kill you!"

"Stop mumbing about unicorns, Kagami-kun." Kuroko pressed even further.

"Damn it! You're enjoying this, aren't you!?"

"No, I don't enjoy ponies, either."

"I give up…"

"Tetsuya- one, Kagami-kun- zero."

"Shut up!"

Kagami felt so defeated. Even so, his mind didn't forget the fact that Kuroko had asked such a strange question out of no where.

_...I wonder what's going on in his mind..._

* * *

-  
**I AM SO SORRY THIS CAME OUT LATE! I GOT AWFULLY SICK FOR THE PAST FIVE DAYS. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. I WAS SO LATE. SOOOO LATE.**

**Srsly, how does one become so horrid with fever for 2 days, get better, then have a relapse for staying up late?!**

**I apologize. TT^TT Don't worry, updates are regular again. The preview from the previous chapter is going to happen. XD It's just scattered parts.**

**Thank you so much guys! I've never had so many follows, faves, and reviews before! Thank you so much!**


	12. Collect

**I think character A came out of no where in the end. But it's part of the plot, so I can't do anything. D: ****  
Please tell me if I did okay!**

* * *

All of the basketball club members –the main players, actually- huddled around their coach, waiting for the oh-so important announcement to reach their ears. Once Riko decided they were all complete, she called up Kuroko by her side.

"Alright, so we're going to participate at the preliminaries of the inter high." Riko announced determinedly. Kuroko, already knowing of the information –she had told him first hand so he could get a head start of getting the details-, just stayed silent and waited until it was his time to talk. "We're going to face harder opponents, so we can't afford to fool around, you hear me?" She thundered to make an impact to the players. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good." Riko nodded approvingly. "Take training seriously, no skipping, or so help me I'll put you in a Boston Crab Hold until your spine breaks." She threatened with a sickeningly sweet smile. The players gulped, not wanting to even think about being a victim of her vicious hold. Kuroko merely sighed, already knowing the experience first hand. _Who would endanger an already injured player by injuring him even further?_ Kuroko thought.

Riko then pushed Kuroko in front of her, earning curious looks from the others. "Now our info-bank already has some important facts stored for us. Right, Kuroko-kun?" She asked, though she already knew the answer. "You will _listen_ and pay attention to what he says. If I hear any complaints or if I see any of you _not_ giving two crumps about the lessons he's giving you, you will be found rolling off a cliff." Riko threatened again. "But before that, I think Hyuga-kun has something to say."

"This is an official game, I'm sure you all know that." He said, a serious atmosphere replaced the once peaceful one disrupted the others' playfulness in whole gym. "We don't have time to fool around. If you do, I will personally collect your souls from your homes in your sleep and send them to _hell._" Hyuga said through gritted teeth, already in clutch mode. Kuroko took this as his cue to talk and cleared his throat to avoid unnecessary silence between them.

"Tokyo has blocks A through D. The winners of each block gets to play in the Championship League. The top three teams that passes through the preliminaries will participate in the Inter High. Only three schools will be chosen out of three hundred participating teams." The teal informed, judging from the details he collected from the gathering area from the registration location. He gave a knowing look to Hyuga, silently telling him to continue.

"That's right." Hyuga nodded in agreement. Kuroko knows his stuff, he had to admit. "Only one percent of the participants will be able to stand on the court of their dreams, and that's the Inter High, so don't waste this opportunity."

Kagami stepped up, earning odd looks from his teammates. "Now that's interesting, sure, but both you and Kuroko are wrong about one thing."

Kuroko stared at him blankly, anticipating the answer.

"The schools aren't chosen," Kagami started wryly. "They win it…. Sir." He said determinedly, only to deflate at the final word. The seniors all smiled in approval of his statement, along with the motivated expressions of the first years. Kuroko's face and eyes remained blank, almost looking a bit disagreeing with him. Still, Kagami was right. Said schools aren't chosen, they have to win each match to be able to play. Kuroko could only hope that Kagami meant 'winning' in a way Kuroko didn't agree on.

"We got three weeks before the preliminaries." Kuroko said, earning the attention again. Hyuga grinned. "We might have fell off a step last year, but we'll definitely advance this time!" Hyuga said. "We might be facing a lot of strong schools this time, but our biggest opponent is Shutoku."

Kuroko gave a light gasp at this. He didn't catch that information, actually. He was a bit surprised he was going to face a school where one of the Generation of Miracles might be going. That, and also because one friend of his might be a player on their side.

_'…Takao-kun's school?'_ Kuroko thought, interested. Izuki saw him and looked concerned. "Kuroko, is there something wrong?" He asked. Kuroko shook his head. "Ah, it's nothing important."

Hyuga stopped for a moment, before continuing. "Yeah, they were in last year's top eight. On top of that, like Kaijo, they got hold of one of the Generation of Miracles,"

So Kuroko was right.

"If we can't beat them, we won't be able to make it to the Nationals." Hyuga continued seriously. Kagami looked thoughtful. "If we're going against the Generation of Miracles, then it will be the championship game." He said out loud.

"Kuroko, you know who he is, right?" Kagami asked. Kuroko didn't seem too inclined to answer. "…Even if I told you, I doubt you would believe me." Right. That was a lie. Kuroko didn't know which one of his former teammates were participating. "Even so, like what Kise-kun said, the other four are on another level." Kuroko said loud enough for the others to hear.

"If they have all improved over the year, I can't imagine how strong they are now…" He whispered. He subconsciously gripped both of his arms. Strong. They were strong, and he was still weak. "…They were right about me…"

Silence filled the gym again. "…Kuroko-kun?" Riko started to worry. She was starting to notice something about her little phantom player, it was as if there was something he wanted to say but never got a chance to.

Hyuga felt the unease surround them, and decided to break the silence. "Right! Before we play Shutoku, we have to play our first game." He said loudly. "Let's make sure we have the ball in our court!"

"Right!"

Furihata made an unsure whine. "Uh, don't we have to learn of our opponents before we plan our way through?" He asked, making some realizing expressions from everyone else.

After hearing this, Kuroko took out three CDs out of his bag, including some notes and his phone. "We also shouldn't worry about Shutoku at the moment." He said, almost dangerously serious. "Especially if our first match isn't looking too good."

"Huh?"

"When did you have the time to observe the match?" Furihata asked unsurely. Kuroko didn't look at him when he answered: "When I was allowed to skip practice the last few days ago to obtain the needed information. You didn't really notice, though."

_'So sad!'_ The others thought. Kuroko only opened the cellphone he was holding, scrolling through files and stuff. "One of their players might give us trouble, but you can watch the video later." He said, handing over his phone. "Take a look of the photo."

Hyuga took it from his hand, opening the screen. The others huddled around him to take a peek. They all gasped. "T-This is…"

It was a photo of what seems to be a middle school version of Kuroko, with his younger looking mother, both smiling at the camera. The others blushed at the sight of a pretty woman and also at the rare sight of seeing Kuroko give an expression other than that poker face.

"This is cute, but…" Hyuga started, Kuroko's eyes slightly widened and sighed at his mistake. "Ah, my bad…" Kuroko said. "It's the next one."

"Kuroko, you never told us you have a cute older sister!" Koganei whined.

"She's not my sister. She is my mother." Kuroko deadpanned, earning shocked looks and sounds from the others.

"The next one…" Hyuga repeated, pressing the 'next' button. They all gasped when they saw the photo. "His name is Papa Mbaye Siki." Kuroko informed.

"Two meters tall, approximately 200 centimeters, 6'7''. Weighs about 87 kilograms. He is a foreign exchange student from Senegal." He continued. Hyuga gaped in shock. "Senegal… Wait, two meters?!"

"How can they do that?" Koganei asked, horrified. Izuki looked troubled. "He studies abroad… Wait…"

"Where the hell is Senegal?!" Koganei, Izuki, and Hyuga thought in a confused manner, Mitobe gaping at the information.

"Nah, he's just huge." Kagami said casually, shrugging off the information. Kuroko didn't say anything.

"…Papa Mbaye… The hell was it?" Hyuga repeated. Kawahara sweat dropped. "'Papanpa'?"

Koganei just grinned. "Papa Try-Hard?" He suggested. Izuki shot up. "Papa… Papaya Ito?!" He thought out, putting it in his notepad. This earned chuckles from the other players.

Riko sighed at their childishness. "We're not getting anywhere." She said. "Kuroko-kun, give him a nickname!" She commanded. Kuroko blinked. Why him? He shrugged internally and thought deeply.

"…Hm… What about 'Dad', then?" He suggested. Koganei and Izuki sweat dropped. "What's with your naming sense?" Izuki shot up again. "Dad's company was a dud…"

Snickering filled the gym again.

"…Dude, that was lame." One of the players said. "But you're laughing, too…!" The other countered.

"-Then, for this 'Dad', we'll have to…" Riko felt a tick mark form on her head. "_Listen_." She said in a scary, commanding voice. The others straightened up save for Kuroko who was serious the whole time. "He's not just tall. His limbs are long, too. More schools are inviting students from foreign schools to increase their power. Our next opponent, Shinkyo High, was only a middle-tier school until last year when they acquired a foreign student. Because of this, no one could reach up to him."

"But we can't just do nothing!" Kagami said. Riko grinned. "Who said we would?"

"For that, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun, you two will have your own training regimen." Riko informed. She then looked at the other members.

"Right! We have until May 16th. Until then, you won't even have time to complain." Riko said in a hard tone.

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

**After Practice.**

Kuroko didn't even know why he keeps walking home alone when he could always take a bus. Oh, right. The drivers don't see him every time they drive through.  
He sighed. "I guess I'll go to the café."

"Ah, Kurokocchi~!"

Kuroko halted. _Crap_. He started running, but of course, Kise caught up to him. Kise tackled him to the ground, both landing painfully. "K-Kise-kun, I can't breathe." Kise rubbed his face on Kuroko's to show affection. "I missed you, Kurokocchi! You see, my fans are-"

"I don't think I'm in the mood to hear about your fans, Kise-kun…" Kuroko said politely. Kise pouted. "So mean!" He exclaimed with crocodile tears. "…What brings you here, Kise-kun?" Kuroko stood up with Kise, both of them shrugging off some dirt from their clothes.

"I owe you the sundae, didn't I?" Kise said with a real smile. Kuroko shook his head and sighed. So childish, this male model was. Both of them walked towards the café, went and sat on a window seat, and proceeded to make a conversation.

"Kurokocchi, are you and your team participating at the preliminaries?" Kise asked. A waiter went and asked for their order, and Kise ordered sundae for two. Kuroko nodded. "Yes, we are. We have no plans on losing, either." Kise grinned. "Is that so? Then it's something to look forward to, right, right?" He said, bouncing up and down on his chair like a child.

"I guess so." Kuroko said. He didn't even know he was starting to smile. "Seirin is filled with so many motivated people… They value their teamwork, as well. I've never felt so happy playing basketball before." Kise looked at Kuroko. Kuroko? Happy? It made Kise a bit envious of Seirin. Back in Teiko, all they did to Kuroko was betray his trust and make him cry.

Kise only gave a rueful smile. "You have a great team, Kurokocchi." Kise said. He gave some weird hand gestures. "They can haz the Kise-Sama Seal of Approval!" He said. Kuroko just sighed at his childishness. Their orders finally came, and both proceeded to consume the dessert.

"That's odd." Kuroko said almost teasingly. "I thought they were unworthy of me." He said. Kise smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, well, I have to apologize for that." The blond said. "I also have to explain why I tried to convince you to come with me."

Kuroko blinked. "Kise-kun, that's not necessary. Why are you telling me this, now?"

"…Kurokocchi, I approve of you joining Seirin." Kise said hesitantly. "but I don't think the others will fare well about it." Kise said honestly. He remembered one time when the GoM had discussed the schools they were to attend. They all expected Kuroko to attend some high-class school. Kise was afraid of what they would think when they learned of what school Kuroko was attending. "They even said they'd be so disappointed if you made a poor decision." Kise gripped his hands together tightly. "They'll make you feel uncomfortable again, Kurokocchi…I didn't want you to feel sad again because of what they expect of you, so…"

Kuroko's eyes narrowed. "…Why would they care about the school I chose?" Kise bit his lower lip. "I don't think they'd have any right to judge my decision when they barely own me."

Kise bowed a bit. "…I'm sorry, Kurokocchi- I thought I was trying to help, but I just did the opposite…"

"No, Kise-kun." Kuroko cut off. "You've proven you're not like them, even just a little."

Kise winced. A little? Did that mean Kuroko didn't fully trust him?

"You don't have to apologize for something you're not responsible for." Kuroko smiled at him. "You've proven yourself already." Kise gripped the table cloth. "But I'm still one of those people who hurt you. I don't want Kurokocchi to get hurt anymore… Especially if I'm involved."

"What you all did was unforgivable," Kuroko said bluntly, not giving any regards to what Kise is feeling. "But you, Kise-kun, you have gathered enough courage to even try to apologize." He patted the blond on the head.

"That means you're different from them." Kuroko said. Kise's eyes looked brighter than before, and he tackled Kuroko again into a deadly tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Kurokocchi!"

"Kise-kun, I'm dying." Kuroko deadpanned through the death hug. Kise grinned. "Ah, does that mean I paid my debt of giving you back your sundae?"

"Do you want me to add interest?"

"Please don't."

"Good."

After a good 30 minutes, both walked out of the café and said their temporary goodbyes.

"Kurokocchi, good luck on your match." Kise said, waving goodbye. Kuroko smiled. "Thank you, Kise-kun."

* * *

**Me got nothing to say.  
Me go die in a hole now.**


	13. Tell The Truth

**Wednesday, 4:27 PM**

Kuroko was really frustrated, yet he didn't show it. Kise's revelation took its toll on him. Why not? Kuroko was already still hurting from what happened at Teiko. He didn't understand anything. They saw him as weak. They threw him out, replaced him, not bothering to try to explain why. Akashi had broken the promises he made. He had lied to him. Now, Kise comes to him out of the blue and tells him those rainbow bastards were going to judge which school he will pick. They had the nerve to expect Kuroko to attend the school _they_ were going to.

Kagami was observing Kuroko, unbeknownst to the latter. Kagami noticed the difference of a normal-tempered Kuroko to… _this_ kind of Kuroko. After a reasonable amount of time being with the teal head, it was already normal for Kagami to know when something was bothering the younger boy. Even so, Kagami made no attempt to question him.

"Right! Everybody, take your seats~ This will be a quick announcement." Their playful female teacher clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention. She was quite the weird one. Kagami recognized her as their music teacher, Gumi Meguri. Their class know her as the unpredictable woman who dumps impossible work on them whenever she could.

"So we all know our annual school festival is coming in January." She said. "Every teacher will grade you guys in one way or another, right?" She asked. The students were mumbling to each other about it, while Kagami looked uninterested. The other teachers already announced what they were going to do already, and God, were they boring as hell.

Gumi grinned. "While you're all gonna deal with boring crap like decorating, hosting, store handling, and etcetera, etcetera, I'm gonna give you a fun challenge!"

Everyone groaned.

"What you're going to do is…. A music video competition!" She announced happily. Some students gave her questioning sounds and looks, some looked excited, some didn't give a crap at all. Kuroko didn't know how that would work. How was she going to grade that? And this wasn't any school project a school had. It also sounded challenging, since this was never done in any school he had known before.

"Music video competition?" A female student repeated. The teacher nodded vigorously. "Right, right! A music video competition." Gumi visibly softened, silencing the students around her. "You see, this isn't just an individual challenge. Surely, everyone is in a club, right?"

"I will grade each video created by each club. I expect there to be… 8 videos in total." Gumi guessed. A male student raised his hand. "But how will we fare for that? This doesn't seem promising at all, teacher!"

Gumi darkened. "Shut up. I'm the teacher, and I decide what you do. I already have permission from the principal." She said with a sickening smile. The student gulped, and the atmosphere became much colder.

"Anyway, the music video competition will only apply to the first years in the club." She announced.

Meanwhile, Kagami and Kuroko were having their own conversation. "Gumi's a crazy hag." Kagami whispered, sweat dropping. Kuroko shook his head in disagreement. "That's not nice, Kagami-kun." He said. "Besides, even if miss Meguri's project is confusing, it's quite exciting."

"So be careful of what video you make! You're representing your club with the video you'll create, after all." She said. With that, she took her stuff and left the classroom.

"…She's not gonna watch us?" Kagami asked to no one. Kuroko didn't say anything. Kagami sighed. "Well, it's almost time for dismissal, anyway. Come on, Kuroko."

"It's not nice to skip, Kagami-kun."

"Shut up." Kagami grumbled.

As they walked through the halls, Kagami couldn't help throw the question that was bugging his mind all day.

"Say, Kuroko, you asked me something about betrayal and all that. Were you trying to get all dramatic with me again?" Kagami asked. Kuroko shook his head. "If that was what you were thinking, I was not." Kuroko answered truthfully. "Sorry for getting you all bothered because of that."

Kagami had pondered about Kuroko's question since yesterday. What was that boy thinking? It was probably the second time Kuroko had asked him something about betrayal. The teal didn't seem like the kind who had experienced such a thing. Then again, Kuroko was part of the Generation of Miracles. They were a strong group, and Kagami knew this being the case means they kick out anyone who is deemed weak and unworthy of their title. Surely they weren't truly like that?

He would just have to ask Kuroko about it later.

Out of nowhere, a weird ringtone rang. It was Kuroko's phone. Kuroko stopped walking along with Kagami. When he opened the phone, it was a message from an unknown number. "Ah, Kagami-kun, please go on ahead. I need to answer this call. "He lied. Kagami shrugged and walked off. "I'll wait for you by the gate, so hurry up!"  
Once Kuroko decided coast was clear, he opened the message. His eyes widened when he read it fully.

[Sender: Unknown Number]  
[Subject: -no subject-]

[How wonderful. I should have known better. Don't think you've successfully avoided meeting us, you pathetic excuse of a player. I know where you are, and I have to say you have a disappointing taste in choosing a team. I was expecting you'd look for a team on par with the rest of us, but this is laughable. No wonder you got replaced so easily. Don't worry; no one's looking for you. After all, who would crave for someone as useless as you are? You really are a coward, Kuroko Tetsuya. No wonder you are no longer fitting of the title you were given.]

Kuroko's eyes narrowed at the message. He didn't know who would have sent this, but he did know it was one of the Generation of Miracles. Judging from the style of words used, it was deadly familiar of who might have sent it.

Akashi Seijuro.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" He gasped out. "I know already you don't need me anymore. Why would you keep throwing it in my face?"

He dropped to the ground, continuing to mutter the unanswered question like a mantra.

"…Why…?"

It was unfair to him. Kuroko had already left him, but Akashi kept coming to haunt his mind. Kuroko was breaking apart because of him. Just when Kuroko had left to heal whatever was broken, Akashi just had to come back and hurt him even more.

Kuroko couldn't take such torment anymore. It hurt. He didn't want to experience that feeling again. He didn't want to see Akashi again. He didn't want to see any of his former teammates, whether it was Kise or Momoi. He didn't want to see them and feel the same way he did that day.

Whenever he pieced these thoughts together, one thought formed and engraved itself in his mind. Something he had admitted long ago that brought more pain than anticipated.

He truly was a coward.

… **8 minutes later …**

"Kagami-kun," a familiar voice resounded behind him. Kagami turned around, seeing Kuroko already in his school uniform. "Did you wait too long?" He asked. Kagami shook his head. "No, come on. I'm getting hungry!" He walked out of the gym with Kuroko following behind him. Kagami realized something strange from him. Kuroko looked lifeless.

"You should really control your hunger, Kagami-kun." Kuroko chided, but anyone could tell his heart wasn't into it. "Simply wasting worth 3500 yen over 30 burgers isn't healthy." Kagami grumbled at his statement. "Shut it, it's not your business what I eat, anyway." He muttered. Kuroko didn't say anything else against him, knowing fully well that Kagami will continue doing as he pleases no matter what he does.

Kagami observed his partner. Kuroko had that damned blank expression again. Nothing out of the ordinary, he assumed. Except… Kagami noticed something strange in the boy's eyes. _I should really stop staring at him or else he'll find another way to screw around with me._ It was like Kuroko was pissed off… And Kagami knew a pissed Kuroko is a dangerous Kuroko. He wondered why.

"Yo, Kuroko, you seem pissed. Something happen?" Kagami asked casually. Kuroko shook his head. "It's nothing, Kagami-kun." He fell silent again. Kagami felt awkward. "Well, you look pissed to me." Kuroko sighed. "Whatever floats your boat, Kagami-kun."

Kagami stared at him incredulously. He didn't deny the second sentence. "Look, Kuroko. You can tell me anything." He said. "You're worrying everyone with your sudden mood swings. What are you, a girl?"

Kuroko looked away. Both of them continued walking. "It's nothing that should concern any of you, alright?" Kuroko said, not noticing his own voice raise by a slight percent. Kagami just stared at him with hard eyes, not looking away. Kuroko lost the staring contest immediately and just made a defeated face. "Sorry for raising my voice, Kagami-kun."

Kagami shrugged. "It's okay. Sorry for being persistent."

Both of them fell silent again.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko bit his lower lip, hesitant to continue what he started. "Can I trust you?" He asked. Kagami huffed. "Of course you can. Why would you ask me something like that?"

"…You were wondering why I've been asking you such bizarre things, right? If I tell you everything…."

Kuroko knew he shouldn't regret anything if he tells Kagami. For some reason, it felt like the right time to do so. It felt like Kagami could be trusted with whatever he will say.

Perhaps it was time to tell someone, after all.

**Sorry for this sorry excuse of a chapter.**


	14. Tell Me Now

**To answer some questions... Well, there is hinted yaoi in this story. XD and... it still is...  
An answer to Rriannah:**

**My favorite vocaloid? Well, I'd say it's Kaito! :DDD he's such an adorable little baby, I can't resist him! My most hated is Miku. :v srsly, stop fucking everyone, miku.**

**Also, I love the song Coward Montblanc so much. Every character I think of has a connection to the song, like Kuroko~~ **

* * *

Both of them were in an awkward silence. Kagami rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat. "Well if you're going to tell me, why don't we go somewhere more appropriate?" Kagami suggested. Kuroko just stared, and the other boy took it as a 'yes'. Both of them walked towards an empty playground.

"Right, now start your story." Kagami said sternly, sitting on one of the swings with Kuroko. The teal-haired boy huffed at the boy for being so straightforward. Oh well, it wasn't like Kuroko himself wasn't just as blunt as the red-haired boy.

"It all started right after Aomine-kun found his potential." Kuroko started off calmly, his voice was void of emotion. Kagami became interested when he heard the name of one of the miracles. Both were tense, Kagami didn't dare to interrupt his shadow. "He was the first one to break. You've probably already seen him play before on some of the videos the coach has caught."

Kagami nodded, humming. It was that blue-headed guy, and his name was Aomine Daiki. Indeed, Kagami had noticed how Aomine had changed over the last few years –shown in short videos-, he used to smile a lot. Aomine lost that smile for some reason, and Kuroko was going to reveal why.

"Aomine-kun… He used to be so radiant. He was my former light. He used to fool around, just like you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said, a nostalgic smile forming on his lips. "He'd let me accompany him, and he would always force himself in on the times I was in the gym alone."

"What were you doing in the gym alone?" Kagami asked, ignoring the annoyance where Kuroko told him he fooled around.

"Practicing." Kuroko answered immediately. "I strived so hard to get in the first string. I had to, since it would get me closer to fulfilling my promise with him." Kuroko said, looking down on the ground. Kagami blinked. "Can I ask who's 'him'?"

"Oh, right… You don't know yet." Kuroko mumbled. "I had a friend back in elementary school, but he moved out. We promised to each other that we'd meet again on the court." Kuroko bit his lower lip to prevent it from quivering. "We'll get to that story later."

"Aomine-kun became too strong. His love for basketball faded, and soon, he tells me he doesn't need me anymore." Kuroko's voice slightly cracked at the last sentence. Kagami's eyes widened. Why would he say that? Wasn't Kuroko his partner?

"I felt like crying when he left me hanging on the court. When he played as my partner one last time…" He gripped his hands together. "But I didn't. Instead, I started to slowly break."

"What kind of partner was that?!" Kagami exclaimed, standing up angrily. "If this stupid-Aomine really saw you as a partner, why would that bastard leave you like some unusable tool?"

Kuroko flinched.

Kagami softened and sat back down. "Sorry."

"…It's alright, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said calmly, not expecting the outburst of his current light. "It felt painful, Kagami-kun. Especially that day… When he had truly changed into something that can't be brought back."

He remembered the mocking tone in Aomine's voice. The scary look in his eyes. Those words that sent him drowning in a pool of torment.

_"I don't remember how to receive your passes anymore."_ Kuroko repeated out loud, his voice wavering completely. Kagami didn't know what to say. It was the first time he ever saw his partner like this. It was completely unexpected. Still, it enraged Kagami that the fact Kuroko was silently suffering on his own was because of his former friend.

"It hurt so much. To think he would always stay my light for a long time, it was naïve of me." Kuroko mumbled, although Kagami had heard him. The taller male refused to interrupt him.

The next part was the one thing Kuroko had dreaded. It was hard to relive something he didn't want to remember.

"I came back to the gym not much later… Momoi-san had told me everything." Kuroko started to shake a bit. "I came back to see Akashi-kun, my former captain, standing there alone… And he seemed so different from the Akashi-kun I knew."

"He… He didn't look like the same gentle and caring person who had seen my potential. He looked like a murderer. I never wanted to see that again. He told me to give up on Aomine-kun." Kagami looked pained as well at his story. Kuroko looked like he really wanted to cry, something he shouldn't see from his shadow.

"He let them all go. He didn't care if we didn't practice. All he cared about was winning." Surprisingly, Kuroko sounded so bitter. "It hurt to see our opponents giving up because they had no hope of winning against us. They didn't care if it broke our opponents. To their eyes, it was their problem." Kuroko continued. "They didn't even take the other team seriously. They would play around… See who gets twenty points during the whole game…"

"Heartless monsters…" Kagami mumbled through gritted teeth.

"I was benched during each game. I wasn't of any use. The only situations I am useful to them is when they want to triple the other team's score even further." The tealette held his sides tightly. "I felt like a monster... Just like them."

"Kuroko…" Kagami gripped his knees. Is this how his former teammates had treated him during his last year in his middle school? Weren't they his friends? Why would they even be so cruel to their own teammate? Kagami didn't understand. The Generation of Miracles were a bunch of bastards. All they gave a shit about was winning, and they didn't take into account the feelings of each opponent they toyed with. No wonder so many people had hated the group.

"It was time for the finals before I knew it. I felt so dead, as if each match slowly killed me." Kuroko closed his eyes. "I was injured because of a player who played foul. According to Momoi-san, my old friend wanted to visit me, but Akashi-kun stopped him from doing so." Kuroko breathed deeply. "He made a promise with me. He promised that he and the others would take the group seriously and not toy with them like they did to the other opponents."

Kagami clicked his tongue. "…And he didn't keep that promise, did he…?"

The silence that formed between the two was enough for Kagami to know his answer.

"He lied to me, Kagami-kun." Kuroko shakily stated. "He broke his promise." He started breathing heavily. "The next three days after the match, Akashi-kun had admitted he was just playing around with me. He told me I was just something to pass time. I was just the most unusable person ever that was only ever usable for entertainment." Kuroko felt warm tears leave his eyes. "…He replaced me."

Kagami stared in shock and anger for his teammate.

"He didn't have any need for me anymore, and bluntly stated I was the 'old prototype' of the Phantom Sixth Man. I was the broken version… And he replaced me." Kuroko started tearing up. Uncharacteristic tears and sobs came from him. "I was a coward…. I didn't feel inclined to hear the truth. The team didn't need me anymore…. They lied to me, Kagami-kun. They all _betrayed_ me. Akashi-kun…" He trailed off, not able to finish his sentence.

A humorless chuckle came from the crying child's face. "Then again, I deserve this." Kagami stared in disbelief. "I was stupid to think they were my friends in the first place. I was truly unworthy of my title for being a useless person. I wasn't deserving of my position… Yet I forced myself in their lives. Too bad, it backfired."

"And yet I trusted Akashi-kun… That was the worst decision I've ever made. I was so _stupid_ to think he'd support me."

"Kuroko," Kagami held his shadow's shoulders, making the teary-eyed Tetsuya look up at him. "Get a grip over yourself!" Kagami yelled, making the boy calm down because of surprise. "Stop saying those things about yourself. You clearly don't deserve this. If anything, this is all their fault. Why would they say that to you, when it was obviously Kuroko Tetsuya who had brought the goodness out of them? Why would you say you were unworthy of being a part of them?!" Kagami demanded, although Kuroko knew he wasn't asking for an answer this time.

"If anything, Kuroko, it's _them_ who are unworthy of _you_." Kagami stated in a calmer way, but the anger in his voice didn't disappear. "After you've worked your ass so hard to be able to stand with them in the same court just to fulfill a promise with a friend, you were already so much better than them before everything ever started." Kagami continued, letting go of Kuroko's shoulders.

"They had to screw everything up for you because they were so fucking selfish! It was them who were out of your league. They weren't worthy of being your teammates for causing so much trouble for you. Don't let them get to you, you _idiot!_"

"You're not useless. You're not stupid." Kagami denied the previous words that came out of his partner.

"And remember this, Kuroko, you're not the Generation of Miracles' sixth man anymore."

Kuroko's eyes widened.

"You're Seirin's Phantom Player now." Kagami stated, giving Kuroko a reassuring grin. "Don't ever let your mind wander to those stupid thoughts in your puny head!"

After a few moments, Kuroko felt another weight lift off from his heart.

Kuroko just gave a gentle smile.

"…Thank you…"

After deciding everything was okay, Kagami stood up, stretching his limbs. "Those Generation of Assholes piss me off so much." He said casually. "Thinking so much made me hungry." He said.

"It's getting late, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said, wiping away stray tears from his eyes. "Would you like to come over at my house? Your house seems far away, and you'll be late for dinner." He suggested. Kagami shook his hands in a wild gesture. "No, it's fine, Kuroko! I don't want to trouble you or your parents-"

"Oh, no. I insist." Kuroko said, and with the tone he used, it was final. Kagami rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, sighing. "Well… If you say so…"

"It's fine." Kuroko smiled. "Think of it as a way of thanking you for listening to me ramble aimlessly."

Kagami didn't have anything to say about that.

"But before that, can we stop by at the sweets shop? It won't take too long."

* * *

"Sorry for making you wait."

"…You're awfully fast." Kagami said.

"I told you it wouldn't take a while." Kuroko held up his take-out dessert with a spark no one could see. He felt excited to eat his new snack. "Let's go, Kagami-kun. Mother is panicking again." He walked out, showing Kagami his mother's exaggerating text.

Kagami sweat dropped.

"…Say, Kuroko, what's your mom like?"

"….You'll know soon enough, Kagami-kun."

Kagami was curious.


	15. We Meet Again

**If you like horror/tragedy/mystery stories, then don't skip my author's note at the end of this chapter!**

**READ IT**

* * *

It was a silent trip to Kuroko's house. Kagami shuddered. What was the boy's family like? Surely they were as nice and quiet as their son, right? Kuroko was quietly observing his light, and he had to say he was enjoying how Kagami was seemingly panicking.

"We're here, Kagami-kun." Kuroko announced, opening the small gate that lead to his home. Kagami was sweating. How nervous could he be? It wasn't that bad… At least, not if it's the second time you visited… "R-Right."

"It's like meeting Nigou all over again." Kuroko teased with a straight face, making Kagami panic even more. "S-Stupid Kuroko! You've never experienced this kind of thing before, have you?! It's like meeting a murderer that won't murder you!"

"What an offensive way to think of my family."

"Shut up."

Both of them went to the door. Kuroko was first to enter, Kagami following behind him.

"I'm home." Kuroko said as he took off his shoes. Kagami stared at him incredulously, silently pleading Kuroko to tell him what to do. "H-Hey! You're not gonna tell them I'm with you?!"

Kuroko tilted his head to the side. "Oh, no. You are the one who will announce your presence." Kuroko lied. "You are the guest, after all." With this informed to him, Kagami began to panic even more. "Damn it, Kuroko. I know you're messing with me! Stop it, alright?!"

"But I'm telling the truth." Kuroko lied again. Kagami didn't know if Kuroko was lying or not, especially with those blank eyes. At this point, Kagami wanted to gouge those eyes out for being inexpressive.

Footsteps echoed from the other hall. A small old woman appeared, a gentle smile on her face was present. She looked delighted to see Kuroko, and Kagami thought she must be the shadow's grandmother. "Welcome home, Tetsuya." She said. Kuroko bowed, kissing his grandmother's forehead. She had seen Kagami standing behind Kuroko, looking awkward.

"Ah, are you Tetsuya's friend?" She asked. Kagami nodded hesitantly. "M-My name is.. Taig- Taigami Kaga- T-T-"

"Stop being so nervous, Kagami-kun." Tetsuya chided softly. Kagami grumbled at him. "…But this is so… Embarrassing…"

"This gives me déjà vu." The grandmother said nostalgically. Kuroko's eyes hardened. He knew just what she was thinking. "Just calm down, dear. I won't bite you." She said jokingly. Kagami gulped, clearing his throat. "I'm Kagami Taiga, Seirin High's ace. Nice to meet ya." He said, confidence starting to come back. Kuroko shook his head. _'I thought you weren't the nervous type, Kagami-kun.'_ He thought.

"I'm back." A masculine voice came from behind Kagami. The tall redhead turned around to see a man with black hair and brown eyes stare back at him blankly. Kagami yelped in surprise,falling in front of Kuroko. Kuroko looked delighted –hard to see, since he's not showing emotion at all.- to see the man.

"Welcome home, father."

Kagami blinked. This was Kuroko' father? He looked nothing like him! The man nodded in acknowledgement to Kuroko, and greeted the old woman. "Hello, mother." He gave a small smile to Kagami afterwards. "And who might you be?"

"I-I'm Kuroko's friend, Kagami Taiga. It's nice to meet you, sir." Kagami answered stiffly. Kuroko face-palmed and continued on in the kitchen.

The father held up his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Kagami-kun. You might have already guessed it, but I am Tetsuya's father, Kuroko Hayato." They shook hands. "Please make yourself at home. It's very rare for Tetsuya to bring home friends these days." Hayato bowed a bit. He stood up straight, and motioned Kagami to follow him.

_'I see where Kuroko gets his overly polite manners.' _Kagami thought in a deadpanned way. He was lead to the kitchen connected to the dining room, and he made his way to the chair to be seated. He sighed in relief. _'A normal family so far._' He thought. _'But where's his mom?'_

Kuroko's granny and father sat with him on the table. Both family members looked serious, which made Kagami nervous. "Kagami-kun, you said you were Tetsuya's friend?" Hayato asked, although it didn't sound like a question. Kagami nodded. "Y-Yeah. Is there a problem?" The boy asked back politely, well, as politely as it could sound. Kagami wasn't polite. At all.

"Oh, there is nothing wrong." Nana, the grandmother, answered. "I'm sure Miho would love to do the questioning later." She said calmly, although Kagami found it sinister.

_'Okay, I spoke too soon. This isn't a normal family. They look and sound overprotective no matter how I see it.' _

"I'm back." Kuroko said, holding a pot in his hands. The smell coming from the pot was wonderful. Kagami breathed out in relief, seeing he wasn't alone anymore. Kuroko noticed this, but made no move to question him. Kuroko sat beside Kagami.

"…I'm scared, Kuroko." Kagami whispered to him comically. Kuroko sighed. "Don't mind their murderous intentions, Kagami-kun. I'm sure they will leave you alive."

"You're not helping."

"I know."

"Why, you-"

"How mean." Another voice muttered in a depressing tone. It was a woman with the same shade of blue that Kuroko had. She had a hopeless smile on her face, her eyes were dead. In fact, the aura around her was dead. "No one even noticed me. Not even Hayato-chan… Why… Why…!"

She was sobbing dramatically, Hayato stood up, trying to calm down his wife. Everything looked so… _anime_ to Kagami's eyes. Yep, definitely a non-normal family.

"Now, now, mother." We have a guest." Kuroko piped in softly, immediately bringing a smile to his mom's face. She launched herself at him, rubbing her face on Kuroko's cheeks. "Ah~ Hearing my Tecchan's voice is heaven! You're such a cute gummy bear, Tecchan! Would you like a baby sister as a reward for being such a cutie pie?"

"...Miho-" Hayato started. Miho glared at him childishly. "Silence! You're not any help at all, Hayato-chan."

The husband became depressed. Kagami sweat dropped, leaning over Kuroko. "…Hey, is this normal?"

"Yes." Kuroko answered emotionlessly. "It happens every day."

"I feel so bad for you."

Nana chuckled. "Alright, you three. You're embarrassing the Kuroko Family Name. Please, behave yourselves in front of a visitor."

"We have a visitor?!" Miho repeated dumbly. Her eyes landed on Kagami, and she immediately eyed him seriously. "Who are you and what are you?"

"Mother, that is rude." Kuroko chided. Miho pouted. "Right. Tecchan, you're no fun."

After the weirdness that Kagami cannot unsee, they all started dinner. Miho smiled at Kagami. "Red hair, slightly tanned skin, and tall. You must be Kagami Tai-ga, right?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm guessing you're Kuroko's mother?" He guessed. Miho nodded. "My, I'm surprised you didn't mistake me as his sister." She chuckled. "They say we look so much alike, and with how young I look, they seem to think of us as siblings."

It was true, Kagami did think like that at first when Kuroko showed them the photo a while ago. He just gave a crooked grin and rubbed the back of his head to hopefully remove the awkwardness from his system. "Eh, I can see that happening. You two almost look like twins, actually…"

"Then it makes me happy to have people think like that Tecchan's adorableness came from me!" She said bubbly. Hayato shook his head at his wife's childishness and smiled. "I'm just glad Tetsuya didn't inherit your personality." He stated bluntly. Yes, he really was Kuroko's father.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miho pouted. Hayato didn't answer. She grumbled, and made another smile. "Kagami-kun, tell us about yourself." She said happily, it was almost sinister. Kagami couldn't say no.

Kagami told them about him living in America and moving to Japan. He told them about Alex and Himuro, his 'brother'. He told them the craziness he and Kuroko went through in a while. All in all, the parents looked entirely interested in Kagami and looked more at ease with him than they did earlier.

After dinner, Nana and Kuroko went back to the kitchen with the dishes. Miho and Hayato were left with Kagami.

"It was nice meeting you, Kagami-kun." Hayato said sternly. Miho looked serious, as well. "It's been a while since Tecchan had brought someone over." She said. "Not since the day his ex-teammates had dumped him out."

Kagami winced at the bluntness coming from the mother's mouth. God, was she two-faced? Multi-personalitied?

Still Kagami didn't want to hear Kuroko's story again. It made him want to hunt down the Generation of Miracles one by one whenever he so much as hears something involving them.

"I can understand why Kuroko never did that." Kagami told them, surprising the parents. "He might get pissed at me for telling you guys this, but he told me everything." A sad smile formed on his face. "Kuroko had trust issues a while back in the team. I can understand why."

"It was because they broke so many promises . The Generation of Miracles betrayed his trust, especially the Akashi guy. Man, I was so angry when I heard all this from Kuroko's mouth." Kagami told with gritted teeth.

Miho softened. "So that's why Tecchan looked like he just finished crying earlier." She remembered, saying it out loud. "He told you everything, you say?" Miho smiled. Kagami nodded. "He looked like he wanted to say everything from the start. I figured something was wrong, but I didn't expect it to be this intense." Kagami answered jokingly.

"Tetsuya must trust you so much to tell you." Hayato commented. "He didn't tell us much from the beginning."

"He really does think you are his friend." Miho added. She became even more serious again.

"Tell me, Kagami-kun, do you think Tecchan is your friend?" She asked. Kagami nodded determinedly. "Of course I do. Ever since we met at the diner, I always knew he was special." He said, almost in a trance. "After he finally trusted me enough to say his story to me, I felt much more inclined to be his wall of support."

"Mister and miss Kuroko, I know you don't think I'm fit enough to be your son's friend." Kagami admitted. "But that won't stop me from trying to prove it."

"I'm not like those miracle bastards, and I never will. Kuroko has his team for him, and they won't hurt Kuroko like they did." Kagami grinned.

"We won't let Kuroko relive that experience ever again."

Back in the kitchen, Kuroko smiled with a thoughtful look.

"He's a good boy." Nana said, reading Kuroko's mind. "I'm glad you found someone like him, Tetsuya-kun."

"…Me too."

"Ah~ Be sure to visit again, Tai-chan!" Miho said with a bright smile as they went to see Kagami out. Kagami blinked.

"…Tai-chan?"

"Ah. She makes strange nicknames for the people she likes." Hayato informed. "Please don't mind it much."

_'Oh, no! She's Kise!' _ Kagami thought dramatically. Kuroko smiled at him. "It looks like they have all taken a liking to you, Kagami-kun." He said. Kuroko bowed. "Thank you for your company, Kagami-kun."

"Right." Kagami agreed with him. "And Kuroko, would you be willing to share this to the others?" Kagami asked. "They're your teammates, too. I'm sure they'd want to be there for you as well."

"I'll think about it." Kuroko answered. "Would you want me to walk with you to the bus stop, Kagami-kun?"

"Nah, I can take care of myself." Kagami shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kuroko. See you all, some time!" He bid goodbye, leaving the household.

"You found a great teammate, Tetsuya." Hayato said, ruffling the boy's hair playfully. Kuroko smiled. "I believe so, as well."

* * *

**The Next Day, Seirin's Gym**

As promised, Kuroko told the whole team everything. Seirin didn't like the story one bit, and all of them offered all their sympathy towards Kuroko. The tealhead didn't want them to worry so much, so he just said it wasn't too bad now that he finally let it out. Everything went back to normal, but of course, the former Teiko player still felt a stinging pain in his chest whenever he thought of the events that happened in the past.

"So far, we're doing great." Riko informed them all with an encouraging grin. "Just keep everything up, and we'll all be ready to face Senegal on Sunday."

Everyone let out determined shouts. Kuroko didn't show emotion, but he closed his eyes and breathed in. "Everyone, do your best."

"Kagami-kun, you look horrible." Kuroko said bluntly, noticing the eyebags on Kagami's eyes. It was finally the start of the tournament, and everyone felt the tension in the atmosphere as they drew nearer to the place where they will be playing.

"Shut up. I got too excited last night and didn't sleep." Kagami explained begrudgingly.

Later, they find themselves practicing in the courts. They observed Shinkyo. They looked like they were practicing normally, Kuroko noted. One thing everyone in Seirin noticed was the lack of the tallest player the other school had.

"Huh? It seems like 'Dad' isn't here." Hyuga informed the others.

"…Now that you mention it…" Izuki said, realizing what Hyuga meant. Just as they were about to question each other, they heard an 'ouch' come from the entrance. It was 'Dad', and he seemed to have hit his head on the wall above the doors.

"Everything in japan is so damn short…" the player complained.

"He's huge! Not to mention long…" Koganei commented in surprise. One of Shinkyo's players clicked their tongue at the foreigner. "Don't take too long, damn it."

"I'm sorry I'm late!" 'Dad' said. Another Shinkyo player approached them. "Why is that the only thing you can say so fluently?" He asked jokingly.

A ball hit the player's foot, and Hyuga came running to get it. "Sorry, that's ours."

"Oh, it's you." The player said. "Did you guys really beat Kaijo?" He asked skeptically. Hyuga blinked. "Well, yeah. It was just a practice game, though."

"Oh." Tanimura Yusuke mumbled. "I guess the Generation of Miracles isn't as strong as we thought." He said with a wry smile.

'Dad' looked annoyed. "The Generation of Miracles lost? I thought you guys brought me here to beat them."

"I'm disappointed to find out they're actually weak." He added as if they were no big deal. Kagami gave him a hard stare, almost glaring. 'Dad' bumped into something, and when he looked down, it was Kuroko.

"Huh?" He muttered. He picked Kuroko up, mistaking him for a child. "No, little boy. Children shouldn't be in the court." He chided as if he was talking to a kid. The taller player looked down to see Kuroko wearing Seirin's uniform. "You're a player?" 'Dad' exclaimed in disbelief. He put Kuroko down, and the boy stared up at him with huge blue eyes.

"Hmph. They lost to a child like him? Are all of the Generation of Miracles children?" 'Dad' mumbled as he walked away from him.

Izuki, Koganei, and Hyuga were snickering, while Kagami was on the floor barely containing his laughter. Kuroko side-eyed them sharply, and he looked forward again. "…I'm honestly starting to get annoyed."

This immediately got them to stop laughing. Kagami was still smiling, and he stood up straight. "You don't like losing, do you?" He asked Kuroko rhetorically. "Then, let's just show 'Dad' why he shouldn't piss kids off!"

The match started. After a bloody hour, the match ended with Seirin winning. **(A/N: I highly doubt you guys would want to read about a match you've already seen.)  
**  
After a good while, they beat quite many schools. They soon faced off with the gang from the previous month. They beat Meijo easily, doubling their score.

"We're doing well!" Furihata grinned. "At this rate, we might get to the Inter High!"

"Not so fast." Hyuga interrupted. "We're going to be facing the three Kings of Tokyo, the top three schools that advanced in the championship league for the last ten years."

"Senshikan, Seiho, and Shutoku." Kuroko added, only gathering the information from his data. Some might have forgotten, but he was the manager of Seirin, as well.

"They're all evenly matched, so the top team changes each year." Hyuga said. "Although, they don't let anyone get better than fourth place."

"After our fifth match, we'll move on to the semi-finals, and then we get to the finals. We'll most likely be up against Shutoku, who acquired Midorima Shintaro, a player from the generation of miracles." Hyuga said carefully, knowing fully well how Kuroko felt about this matter.

"…So Takao-kun is with Midorima-kun as of now." Kuroko mumbled. "But you guys made it to the finals last year, right?"

The seniors fell silent at Fukuda's question. "Yeah, but we didn't stand a chance."

A menacing atmosphere change took its toll on Seirin.

"Looks like they're here."

"It's better to see for yourself than hear." Riko said.

Shutoku's team came forward, earning some cheering from the crowd. The 2nd and 3rd string members of Shutoku was there, cheering for their team.

Takao eyed the players they were going up against. "Man~ I'm surprised a new school managed to last this long." He said to Midorima. The four-eyed tsundere clicked his tongue. "Like I care."

Takao grinned at the tsundere and laughed. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Kuroko staring back at his eyes. He looked surprised, and Takao couldn't suppress the smile that was getting bigger on his face.

"Kuroko! Man, I can't believe it's you!" He shouted loudly, running to Seirin's phantom player. Shutoku and Seirin, especially Midorima and Kagami looked even more surprised. These two have known each other?

"It's nice to meet you again, Takao-ku-" A loud thud echoed. Takao had tackled Kuroko into a tight hug that sent them both landing on the ground.

"..Dude, I missed you so~ much!"

* * *

-**  
I hope you were reading this. :P**

**thanks so much for the reviews, faves and follows! I'm becoming even more motivated than before. XD THANK YOU!**

**Also, I have another plot bunny inside my head. Here's a short preview of it:**

_Once before Seirin High ever started, another school stood in its place._

"…Where am I…?"

_It was an elementary school._

_"IT HURTS!"_

_The unexplained murders that took place in the school was never uncovered._

_"…Tetsuya, don't you dare… Don't you dare leave me like this…!"_

_Blood was splattered around in the darkened halls._

_Students meet each other, see dead bodies, and go crazy._

_"This is all my fault. This is all my fault…!"_

_"TETSUYA!"_

_"Hyuga-kun, help me!"_

_"I'm scared, Mitobe…"_

_"Don't leave alone…"_

_"…Stop… Looking at my insides…"_

_"Where the hell did you take Tetsu?!"_

_"Kasamatsu-senpai, where are you?!"_

_"Stop looking at them…"_

_"…I'm sorry, Akashi-kun."_

_Welcome to Heavenly Host Elementary School._

_"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

**This story will happen. XD I'm already excited, but I can't start three stories at once. Google search 'Heavenly Host Elementary School' if you don't know which anigame I used as inspiration. :DD if you already know what it is, then tell me in the reviews~~~ Heavenly Host is already a dead giveaway~~**

_I want to see you… But I can't see you… Please tell me, where did you go…? _


	16. Conflict 1

The other Shutoku players went to Seirin's captain. "We'll be moving to our area, tell those two morons to catch up, alright?" Otsubo said, earning scolding stares from his other teammates. Hyuga shrugged. "Alright. We hope for a good match." He said with an earnest smile.

"They all seem like good people." Koganei commented, Mitobe nodding in agreement. Izuki frowned. "True, but they're still enemies on the court." He gave a serious look. "We can't afford to lose."

"Takao-kun, you're hurting me." Kuroko said with no emotion. Takao let go and helped Kuroko stand up. "You just don't understand my feelings! You unfeeling starfish!" Takao replied with crocodile tears. Kuroko stared at him incredulously. "…Starfish…?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Kagami interrupted, stepping up. "You two know each other?" Takao grinned at Kagami. "Yeah, ever since we were beat by the Generation of Miracles in middle school, Tecchan here gave me a visit and put me out of my misery."

Seirin's level of respect for Kuroko had gone up to 120%. Their phantom didn't tell them anything about this in his story, and they figured it must be because he was too humble and modest to say something about his accomplishments. Riko patted Kuroko's shoulder for it. "Such a great guy you are, Kuroko-kun." She said, looking proud. "You really went from school to school just to bring their spirits up. People like you are rare these days."

The teal said a small 'thank you' to his coach for her sweet words. He felt vulnerable again. He was right in front of Midorima, one of the people who had bluntly threw at him the words he didn't want to hear. He was silent, and so was the other. The only difference was Midorima gave him a very cold look.

"Kuroko." He started. Kuroko grimaced inwardly at the sharpness of his tone. Midorima immediately noticed and softened his way of speaking.

"Would you care to explain as to why you've left without our consent?"

Kuroko's eyes narrowed at his question. Why was he speaking as if he was talking to a child that had done wrong? He did they all knew why he had left and that he had done it, but why did Midorima speak as if he didn't know? He gave the other male a hard gaze. "I don't need to tell you anything." Kuroko answered unwillingly, struggling to even say another word to his former teammate.

"What the hell do you mean?" Midorima lost his sense of patience. "_You_ left _us_ without saying a single word. Why? Did we really mean nothing to you?" He clicked his tongue at the younger male. "Weren't we a _team_, something you kept rubbing in our faces when we were all still together?"

Oh, so it was his fault now? Kuroko's hands formed into fists as he fought off the thought of answering back. Takao gave Midorima a disappointed look which went unnoticed by the latter. Midorima just made a betrayed, disappointed expression that everyone knew Kuroko didn't really need to see.

"How predictable you can't answer." Midorima spat. "Akashi was right to have Mayuzumi take your place."

Everyone in Seirin, and Takao, gave him displeased gazes. They were glaring at him.

"You didn't change at all over the year." Midorima said coldly. "You're still a pathetic failure. You don't deserve your place in our team."

Kuroko looked horrified at him. Kagami glared at Midorima murderously. Even though he and the team had reassured Kuroko that he wasn't what he thought he was, there was no doubt Kuroko still felt deeply for those deadly words whenever he hears or thinks about it.

"wait a damn second." Another voice interrupted. It was Hyuga. "The hell do you think you are to come near our teammate just to talk crap to him? He doesn't need that crap right now." Midorima stayed silent, expecting more interruptions to come their way.

"Y-You guys are the worst." Furihata piped in bravely, but he was still shaking like a newborn lamb. "Y-You were the ones who turned his middle school life into a living hell, after all."

Midorima gave them a bored stare, while Takao looked apologetic. He made hand gestures that Midorima was crazy and doesn't know what he was saying, which looked amusing to the other team, but they still didn't take their eyes off of his partner.

"Sorry, sorry for the inconvenience!" Takao interrupted with a sheepish grin. "Please ignore Midorim(aho), he didn't take his happy pills earlier!"

"Takao!"

"We'll talk properly _later_, okay?" Takao said to the other team while giving a hard glance at Midorima. Seirin didn't look pleased, but they all agreed to settle the matter later on.

It was going to be one wild match between Shutoku and Seirin.

* * *

**I have a crush on Kasamatsu bae now. I hope senpai notices me.**

**Also, this story will have at least 10-15 chapters left.**

**Sorreh for lateness and shortness. I won't be able to update immediately tomorrow, since I'm visiting my aunts **somewhere. Don't worry! Updates are still regular after the skip. Who knows, they might have wifi and I ge**t to write the next chapter!**

Sorry for this being short.


	17. -Primary Attention, Please-

**Yo!  
**  
I'm just saying I'll be back by thursday. ^^'' I put this note up in a rush, internet is getting slow! DX I know we all planned this to be updated last week, but I didn't plan to stay at my aunt's WIFIless house for a week! Luckily, she'll get the internet back by thursday, so expect an update by then!

**GUYS! I have something to propose: I will put on my profile the status of my stories at the very top! As we all know, our updates our everyday. I will tell you if it will be ready or not, starting... Now!**

Also, I'm thinking of another story. It centers around Kise, Kasamatsu, and Imayoshi. Yes. The story will be about Imayoshi threatening Kasamatsu to take away his precious kohai and torture him the worse ways possible. Kasamatsu can't let it happen, and succumbs to Imayoshi's evil intentions. Kise doesn't know, and Kasamatsu will do all he can to protect him no matter how painful his task is. ^_^

The chapter of coward montblanc I've been writing has some suspenseful shit. Be warned~  
P.S: They're nearing their appearances...


	18. -Author's Note-

**Updates will start again on April 5th.  
When that date comes, this and the previous author's note will be removed. ^_^  
See you all then!**


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